Budget 'utterly fails to address the challenges of our time', say Green Party

8 March 2017

* No mention of climate change in Chancellor’s speech

* ‘Woefully inadequate’ resources for health and social care

* ‘Utter failure’ to address the air pollution emergency

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, has given a damning verdict on today’s Budget. With the Chancellor refusing to give the NHS and social care the funding that experts say is needed, and with Phillip Hammond’s speech failing to mention climate change, Lucas said that the Budget ‘utterly fails to address the challenges of our time’.

Caroline Lucas MP said:

“This budget should have been an emergency intervention to end the chaos in health and social care and address the air pollution emergency, but instead it’s another resounding failure from a Government that’s got no ideas beyond an obsession with scaling back the state. 

“With our NHS in peril and social care in the midst of a crisis this Budget was a chance for the Government to take a stand for the public services upon which we all rely. Instead they continue to push ahead with planned Corporation tax cuts, and their handout to high earners, while unveiling woefully inadequate funding changes for the NHS and social care. . The Government’s obsessions with slimming down the state is causing misery – and their refusal to think again on this issue is inexcusable.”

Lucas also slammed the Government for a ‘climate failure’ Budget and for refusing to act on air pollution:

“The Chancellor has utterly failed to get a grip on the air pollution emergency in Britain, and this budget simply won’t go anywhere near far enough in cleaning up the filthy air which leads to 40,000 early deaths per year. With the cost of motoring dropping in recent years – and public transport costs skyrocketing – we should have seen the fuel duty escalator unfrozen and the money ploughed into public transport. Instead we’ve seen further handouts to the motor lobby and persistent neglect for cleaner, healthier forms of transport.”

“This budget is another climate failure – with Chancellor failing to mention climate change even once in his speech.. Rather than reversing the solar tax hike or ploughing money into renewables the Chancellor seems hell bent on drilling for more gas and oil in the North Sea, and handing further cash to the motor lobby with the fuel duty freeze. Britain should be leading the world in climate change technology and green jobs but instead we’re lagging behind and laying the foundations for another dash for gas.”

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Press release: East coast surge prompts people to sign up for flood warnings

More than 2,000 people in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire signed up for flood warnings in just two days when flooding threatened the east coast in January.

The number of local registrations jumped by 7 per cent, Environment Agency figures have shown.

Nearly all the new sign-ups occurred on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th January 2017 when forecasters predicted that high tides combined with weather conditions could cause widespread coastal flooding.

Fortunately the event passed without flooding any homes in either county, but the Environment Agency is reminding everyone to sign up, as figures show that only 18 per cent of the total number of properties at risk in the area are fully registered.

Anyone can check whether they are at risk and register for warnings by calling Floodline on 0345 988 1188. You can also make sure your contact details are up-to-date and choose how you’d prefer to be contacted – by mobile, text, landline or email – if flooding was expected.

Ben Thornely, Area Incident Manager, said:

We’re glad to see people listened to our advice during the surge. It means another 2,000 families will have early warning should flooding be expected – early warning that could give them extra time to protect themselves and their homes.

That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to sign up now – before the next surge or storm.

The service is free, and it’s the most simple, specific and timely way to find out when you’re at risk. You can tell us how best to reach you with vital information that’s updated every 15 minutes.

All it takes is a simple phone call or you can visit www.gov.uk/flood to find out more.

Notes for editors:

  • In January, the amount of fully-registered properties increased by 7 per cent, from 28,500 to 30,500.

  • However, only 18% (30,500) of the 169,500 of properties at flood risk in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire are registered with Floodline.

  • People who proactively contact Floodline to provide their contact details and preferred method of contact are considered to be fully-registered.



Company fined after worker’s foot was exposed to machinery

A company that produces and supplies wood shavings for use as horse bedding has been fined after a worker suffered a serious foot injury at its site in Andover, Hampshire.

Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard that Bedmax Limited failed to protect its employee from dangerous parts of machinery. On 26 October 2015 Philip Eyers was operating the log deck, which is part of a machine that shreds trees, when his foot slipped and became lodged in a gap exposing him to the wheels of the machine which conveyed the logs. The severity of the injuries to his toes meant his big toe was cut back several times, his other four were fractured and eventually reconstructive surgery was required.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that a panel that would have prevented access had been removed and not replaced where the employee was working.

Bedmax Limited, whose office is in Belford, Northumberland, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The court heard on 8 March 2017 that the company was fined £17,293.60 and ordered to pay costs of £623.60.

Speaking after the judge passed sentence, HSE Inspector Andrew Johnson said: “Bedmax fell below the expected standard. The necessary panel that would have prevented the incident was missing, rendering the man vulnerable as soon as he took to his task. This was a fundamental and basic health and safety failing which should have been easily avoided.”

Notes to Editors:

  1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk[1][1 [1]]
  2. More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ [2][2][2]
  3. HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk[3]


Press release: No profit for waste couple

The operator and the landowner of an illegal waste site in an Essex village have been ordered to pay a total of £66,493

Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard that 14,700 tonnes of inert waste was stored on land behind a residential address known as Gean Tree in Great Horkesley north of Colchester ‘grossly’ breaching a waste exemption and planning rules.

George Nicholas James Dench pleaded guilty to running the illegal site and failing to comply with an enforcement notice to remove the waste. He was ordered to pay a total of £32,895 in fines and costs by Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday (6 Mar).

Annette Ismay Williams, who owned the land pleaded guilty to allowing the illegal waste site to run and to failing to clear the land under an enforcement notice and has to pay a total of £33,598 fines and costs.

Mrs Miriam Tordoff, prosecuting for the Environment Agency, told the court the waste had been deposited there over 2.5 years.

Williams lives at the address with her partner and their son George Dench who sought out companies to dump the waste there. He was paid £64,704.

Mrs Tordoff said only certain relatively low risk activities can be covered by an exemption which sets out conditions that must be met at all times. These include not risking human health nor the environment, not causing a nuisance with noise or odours and not adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest.

The exemption registered by Williams allowed the use of certain types of inert waste in construction and the limit for waste soils and stones was 1,000 tonnes in any 3 years. That target was reached in the first month.

A further exemption allowed the treatment of up to 5,000 tonnes of waste in any 3 years, providing it was also used on the same site and only stored for a year.

Dench told investigating officers he had brought the soils to the site to repair the bank of a lake there. Williams said she just did the admin work. Both said they did not know how many tonnes the exemption allowed for.

Dench said he had not taken in the soils for financial gain as he was now bankrupt and he had not taken in any more since.

Mrs Tordoff told magistrates that Environment Agency officers had advised and written to the 2 saying the site needed to be cleared and operated properly.

Between September 2012 and March 2015 the Agency received 34 complaints about activities at the site.

After the hearing Environment Agency Enforcement Team Leader Lesley Robertson said:

We advised the defendants several times against accepting any more soils at the site but they continued to take it.

The site is in a village close to other homes and operations there affected people living nearby.

Councillor Simon Walsh, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, said:

This case is an example to show landowners that risk taking is not acceptable, whether it is a risk that concerns human health or the environment.

Owning a piece of land means accepting a responsibility to the surrounding area and all that resides there, be it business, homes or wildlife.

Notes for Editors:

Breakdown of costs and fines:

Dench: EA offence – fined £14,353 plus £8,103 (a share of the full costs)
ECC offence – fined £9,568 plus £750 costs

Williams: EA offence – fined £14,775 plus £8,103 (a share of the full costs)
ECC offence – fined £9,850 plus £750 costs



It’s time to right a wrong – message to WASPI Lobby – Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour
Party, delivering a message of support to
people lobbying for Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI), said:

My best wishes and International
Women’s Day greetings to everyone supporting today’s WASPI lobby.

You are highlighting a grave injustice.
The Coalition Government’s decision to move the goalposts, by bringing the
equalisation of the state pension age forward by a further two years to 2018,
was plain wrong.

It was a betrayal of tens of thousands
of women who had planned for their retirement based on the 1995 legislation.

It was justified by claims Britain
needed a dose of austerity – yet at the same time tax cuts worth billions have
been given to big companies and the very wealthy.

Today, we can expect the Chancellor to
boast that the economy is doing better than expected. But will he do anything
to right this wrong? I very much doubt it.

Labour is already committed to
extending Pension Credit to help those worst hit by this callous change.

We are also developing solutions for
those affected who would not be entitled to Pension Credit. And we will
continue to consult with WASPI and others on this as part of our planning for
government.

I am sorry I cannot join you today. I
will be in the Chamber of the House of Commons for the Budget statement, ready
to respond.

My speech will challenge the
Government’s policy of endless austerity for the many, alongside generous tax
giveaways for their wealthy and privileged friends.

My thoughts are with you today. I
congratulate you on your stand and look forward to working with you to achieve
justice.

Best wishes

Jeremy Corbyn

Leader of the Labour Party