Uncertainty surrounds levy expenditure

A final decision on Levy Board spending in what might be the last three months of the board's existence has been delayed again due to the uncertainty surrounding the funding system's replacement.

This year levy expenditure is set to fall by £4 million to around £74m caused by an unexpectedly sharp fall in levy yield and there had been estimates that spending would have to be cut by a further £20­-£25m next year to balance the books, which would affect prize-money.

However, that was before the government announced it planned to bring in a levy replacement system from April 1.