Speaking earlier this month to the Essex Environment Trust, Lord Cranbrook reminded his audience that the achievements needed to be known because “the government has identified the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme (LTCS) as a key resource for the achievement of the national strategy for sustainable waste management.” And, he pointed to the new targets for LTCS of 65% of landfill tax credits to be allocated to sustainable waste management projects.
As of May this year, there had been 371 million allocated under the LTCS with 2,452 projects approved.
Lord Cranbrook said that the scheme has helped form many unique and valued partnerships up and down the country And, “for larger projects, because the LTCS is private sector money, contributions may be used in match-funding applications to EU sources, the lottery and others, in a way that public sector funding may not. This benefit has seen landfill tax credits multiplied manyfold.”
And, he emphasised that “there is a close match between LTCS achievements and the government's aspirations for sustainable development and sustainable communities.”
Customs & Excise
Entrust works on contract to HM Customs & Excise and from August 1 2001 revised terms of the contract are to be introduced.
Lord Cranbrook said: “Both the text of the terms and the discussions surrounding them, have made it clear that HM Customs & Excise expect Entrust to continue to concentrate its efforts and resources on assurance activity. The LTCS, at least in its present form, is judged to be mature. Accordingly, HM Customs & Excise has revised the terms to include the requirement to publish guidance on the operation of the scheme rather than its promotion.”
In the future, he said, this will mean that promotional role will be undertaken more by the environmental bodies themselves.
A spokesman for HM Customs & Excise told letsrecycle that for Entrust the contract changes will mean that the regulator spends more time on checking that the money generated is spent properly in accordance with the aims of the scheme.
Chief executive
Lord Cranbrook also told the Essex Environment Trust that Entrust is unlikely to have a successor in post this year to replace chief executive Dr Richard Sills, who stepped down at the end of June. But, he told his audience that the regulator “continues to operate to full effect, under the joint executive leadership of Neil Carrigan, director of operations and Mike Whiting, head of finance and administration.”
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