Thursday 25th March 2010

CIWM response to the Budget 2010

CIWM has described the Budget 2010 as ‘lukewarm’, offering little in the way of tangible support to the waste and resource management sector.

“We welcome the extension of the landfill tax escalator to 2014 and the confirmation by the Chancellor of the £80 floor after that point. However, it falls short of the longer term plan for the tax that the industry has been calling for and may not be enough to provide the investment certainty that we need,” says CIWM chief executive Steve Lee.

“Similarly, the establishment of a Green Investment Bank is a useful acknowledgment that the development of low carbon infrastructure needs support, but the figure of £2bn, mostly earmarked for energy and transport, offers little comfort to our sector in the short term.

“We hope that the National Infrastructure Framework being developed by Infrastructure UK will recognise the important role of waste treatment infrastructure in moving towards a low carbon economy and mitigating climate change. What we need is a coherent, long term strategy that tackles the finance and delivery challenges that this industry is facing.

“One of the few potential winners is the proposed consultation on improving the level of support for biomass, particularly grandfathering ROCs for AD and EfW with CHP. It would certainly redress an imbalance in the current framework and improve investment prospects.

“Moving forwards, whatever hue of Government emerges after the election, it will have to make clear, very quickly, how and where public sector savings will be made and how it intends to ‘green the Treasury’  - an aspiration shared in some form by the three main parties. The answers to these questions will be key to the future of our industry.“

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) is the leading professional body for the waste management sector representing over 7000 individuals in the UK and overseas. Established in 1898, CIWM is a non profit-making organisation, dedicated to the promotion of professional competence amongst waste managers. CIWM seeks to raise standards for those working in and with the sector by producing best practice guidance, developing educational and training initiatives, and providing information on key waste-related issues.

2. Comprehensive information about CIWM can be found at www.ciwm.co.uk

Contacts:
Pat Jennings
Communications Office
Tel: 01604 620426
Mob: 07912 228260
E-mail: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk