Speaking last week as the trust celebated a further year of funding community and environmental projects at a luncheon in the House of Lords, Mr Kutner was reflecting a note of concern among the waste sector. This is over the possibility that the Treasury might one day want to rein in the money that landfill tax trusts spend.
Under the Landfill Communities Fund, registered landfill site operators can donate a percentage of their landfill tax liability in return for a tax credit. This credit is available to environmental bodies to fund mainly environmental, community and restoration projects. Currently, operators can donate up to 6% of their landfill tax and the Veolia trust has received more than £34.5 million from the company.
Mr Kutner, who is a director and former chief executive of Veolia Environmental Services, said: “The trust was set up in August 1997, so this is our 10th occasion in the House of Lords. I am very pleased to see our first chairman, Lord Gregson here. It would have been hard to imagine 10 years ago how successful this would have been. We have been able to give money to 765 projects, many of which might not have got off the ground if we had not been able to give them funds.”
He went on to note how there have been major changes to the scheme with the loss of research work under category C but that local social projects continued. Mr Kutner then warned how government might have its eyes on the funds and said: “How disastrous it would be if the Treasury grabbed all the money and collapsed the scheme.”
Good work
The importance of the landfill tax scheme was endorsed by senior Labour MP Barry Sheerman who told the audience that “government should need little reminding that this is a good scheme. Sometimes we don't say enough about how much good work these funds do, with projects up and down the country.”
Mr Sheerman also praised the work of Margaret Cobbold, executive director of the Trust. Writing in the trut's report, she said: “Over the year as well as continuing to award grants to capital projects, we also supported three youth volunteering schemes. The Board supported these projects, run by BTCV, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust, in order to see fund monies help young volunteers to improve the environment, learn new skills and have fun.”
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