Budget: city may suffer job cuts and council tax increases
22 March 2007
Chancellor Gordon Brown's eleventh budget yesterday (21 March) will cause finance difficulties for Brighton and Hove City Council over the next three years, say Green councillors. Landfill taxes are set to increase by £8 per tonne for each of the next three years. This is an increase of an extra £5 per tonne on top of last year's government pledge.
Green Convenor Cllr Keith Taylor (below) said: "Over the next three years extra landfill taxes will cost an additional £3.42m above the provision the council has already made to pay this liability.
“At a time when we are predicting that government grants to the city council will be pegged at the level of this year for three years, the only way the council will be able to afford this will be to cut jobs or services.
Land fill Tax
"Naturally, Greens want to see more recycling and re-use instead of landfill and incineration," Cllr Taylor explained.
"But this simple increase in tax does very little to encourage that, and will be seized by Labour and Conservative supporters of incineration as a justification for burning waste.
“What the tax increase doesn't do is to reduce the amount of waste we create, and that is a major failing.
"The easiest way of dealing with waste is not creating it in the first place - for instance, the government could, at a stroke, reduce packaging waste by introducing new regulations.
A new ‘Golden Rule’ – cut CO2
Turning to the rest of the Budget Cllr Taylor continued, "This was not the budget the country needed. Chancellor Brown has failed to adequately address climate change, the number one challenge facing every state in the world.
"Brown's failure to act now on tackling climate change means we will pay later - as the Stern review has shown. After six months of rhetoric on climate change, there is a shocking absence of real substance in this budget. The Chancellor should introduce a new 'golden rule' - 'carbon cutting'.
Cllr Taylor went on to criticise the specific measures and targets outlined in the budget with regard to the environment:
"An additional 50 per cent for green grants for homes equates to just £6 million and is derisory when compared to the scale of spending on other priorities.
"A 30% increase for top band vehicles to £300 this year and £400 next year flies in the face of the government's own research about the price difference required to change behaviour.
"A change of at least £1800 tax for the worst gas guzzlers is needed to ensure people buy greener cars.
"Exempting zero carbon homes from stamp duty sounds good but means little - it will not make installation of micro generation and insulation measures more attractive.
“The absence of any measures to tackle emissions from cars and planes represents a serious lost opportunity, and shows that Labour's claim to be capable of providing real environmental leadership to be completely false.”
Notes to editors:
For more information please contact Geoffrey Bowden Green Party Press Officer on 07958 682 683.[ENDS]
