§ Mr. MossTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what impact she anticipates(a) the increase in landfill tax in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2002, (b) national recycling targets for local authorities, (c) the implementation of the EU directive on fridge recycling, (d) the implementation of the EU directive on end-of-life vehicles and (e) the implementation of the EU directive on landfill will have on the level of council tax in English local authorities; and if she will make a statement. [19594]
§ Mr. MeacherThe amount of council tax individual authorities choose to raise is a matter for individual councils to decide. Spending Review 2000 looked at pressures on local authority services funded through the Environment, Protection and Cultural Services (EPCS) block, which included increases in landfill tax and the 2003–04 statutory targets for recycling and composting of household waste. SR2000 provided an increase in EPCS Standard Spending Assessment of £1.1 billion over the period covered by the spending review.
680WRegarding the cost of managing waste fridges, my Department has announced an extra £6 million in the local government finance settlement. This will help local authorities with the extra costs of handling fridges to the end of this financial year.
It has not yet been decided how the take-back and treatment of end-of-life vehicles under the directive will be funded between 2002 and 2007. The Government are now assessing the responses to their consultation on options for implementing the directive, and will take these into account when deciding the way forward.
Spending Review 2000 will establish future levels of local authority funding for 2003–04 to 2005–06 with regard to the pressures they will face.