The Budget documents reveal that Chancellor George Osborne is to change the cap on contributions by landfill operators to the Landfill Communities Fund to 5.7% with a total value of £59.4 million. This equates to a change of about £4.2m which will be used “to fund a one-off £4.2m increase in Environment Agency funding to address waste crime”.
It appears that the money is effectively being hypothecated by the Treasury into funding waste crime action by the regulators, including the Environment Agency, rather than ending up in the general government spending pool.
There have been concerns that the Agency’s funding on waste crime would run out – it has about £5 million to spend over two years but has found tackling crime more costly than it expected.
Landfill Tax
On Landfill Tax, the Chancellor confirmed that the standard and lower rates of Landfill Tax will increase in line with RPI, rounded to the nearest 5 pence, from April 2016. Additionally, the loss on ignition testing regime announced at Autumn Statement 2014 will be introduced from 1 April 2015. (From April 1 2015 the standard Landfill Tax rate will be £82.60).
On the Landfill Communities Fund reform, the Chancellor has said that the government is consulting on a package of measures to reform it. These are being “developed by a government-sector working group. The package will accelerate the spending of funds on community projects, reduce administrative costs and simplify administrative processes.”
Leeds
On supporting enterprise, through the development of projects generally in the north of England, the Chancellor said that the designation of the Leeds Enterprise Zone will be changed to support energy and waste technology businesses.
Newspapers
One small element of cheer for the newsprint and newspaper recycling sector might be that the Budget contains an announcement that the government will consult on a tax relief for local newspapers. The announcement says that “local newspapers are a vital part of community life, but they’ve had a tough time – so the government is announcing a consultation on how it can provide them with tax support.”
HGV driver shortage
Elsewhere in the Budget document, the government says it will review the speed with which Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) driving tests and driver medical assessments currently take place and “consider options to accelerate both in order to help address the shortage of qualified HGV drivers”.
In addition, the government says it will also work with road haulage firms on an industry-led solution to the driver shortage “including looking at the right level of access to, and funding support for, training”.
Communities Fund
Speaking to letsrecycle.com, the Veolia Environmental Trust welcomed the amendment to the Landfill Communities Fund – with the cap on contributions rising from 5.1% to 5.7%. The cap tends to fluctuate each year in response to the landfill tax rate; in 2014 the cap was dropped from 6.8% to 5.1%.
The increase means landfill operators will be able to claim a 5.7% credit against their landfill tax liability for 90% of the contributions they make. This funding is used for a wide range of community and environmental projects in the vicinity of landfill sites.
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