Environmental organisation Green Alliance slammed Wednesday’s report, saying it “represented a missed opportunity to put the UK on the path to a strong economy and a clean environment. Despite the extensive consultation and debate that has already taken place on these issues, the Chancellor has chosen further rounds of
consultation over action on key environmental issues such as waste,
transport, aviation and energy.”
Half done
Ben Shaw, Green Alliance's senior policy officer, said: “The March Budget made some significant progress on waste, but it was a job half done. Further announcements on waste were promised for today's Pre Budget Report, but the Chancellor has now announced yet another round of consultation, stalling the vitally needed action to tackle the UK waste mountain.”
An important report commissioned by the government on the health impacts of waste management sites had been due for publication this month but has now been delayed until 2004. Mr Shaw claimed: “Expected statements on the health and environment impacts of waste
management, broadening the landfill tax to a general waste tax, and variable
household charging all seem to have fallen off the Treasury's agenda.”
Public sector
The Environmental Services Association, (ESA) which represents the UK’s waste management industry, reacted strongly to the statement within the report that some of the money raised from the Landfill Tax will be spent on public sector advice and information schemes to help businesses better manage their waste. No detail of exactly how this would work has been released by any government department, but it is thought likely to involve some extra work for bodies such as the Waste and Resources Action Programme or the DTI backed Envirowise scheme.
Instead, the ESA urged that a more market-oriented approach be taken and that the cost of the Landfill Tax to business should be offset by tax cuts and that the waste management industry would be there to provide modern facilities and services to industry.
ESA's Chief Executive, Dirk Hazell, said: “A precedent has been broken in
that increases for business in Landfill Tax will not be offset by reductions
in other taxes on business.”
He continued: “While they contain sensible material, the Treasury's comments on waste management are some steps behind the more market oriented agenda currently
being considered by the European Commission to align economic and
environmental sustainability.”
Alignment
Mr Hazell argued that in the context of increases in the Landfill Tax, “the most transparent and economically efficient way for business to achieve this alignment would be through offsetting tax cuts, as has so far happened, rather than through
additional public spending programmes.
“ESA's Members are intensely competitive and, given the opportunity, will be much more effective than
public spending programmes at competitively providing relevant and state of
the art infrastructure to align economic and environmental sustainability,”
he commented.”
“But if this government is serious about tackling climate change it has to
provide tax breaks that reward householders willing to do their bit. The
lack of progress in today's pre-budget report could jeopardise our chances
of making progress on this vital agenda.”
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