Comment on Lyons and budget

eGov Monitor asked councillors for comments on Lyons Review and the recent budget - locally we've already looked at the recent budget and made comments plus rather unsuccessfully tried to show what Brown could have done in his budget - see Green party budget here. Anyhow here is my quick note sent off:

You asked for a comment on the Budget and Lyons report. Firstly proposals on the environment are seriously complacent. Browns failure to heed the warnings that we must tackle climate change now is staggering.

Budget measures promise to save just 16 million tonnes of carbon through a package. One single measure - restoration of the fuel duty escalator - would save more. In contrast the Green Party's own Carbon Costed budget, which includes bringing back the fuel duty escalator, doubling the climate change levy and giving a £500 million boost for renewable energy grants, would save 55 million tonnes in 2007/8 alone.

Lyons proposals for further devolution and local authorities having more influence over housing issues are to be welcomed. The report also confirms what we know about that Council Tax being seen as unfair but the changes suggested fail to address the fundamental unfairness . Similarly the report fails to re-localisie Business Rates and fails to tackle the issue of affordable housing.

We are urgently in need of real reforms that will build strong local economies and communities and give them the tools to tackle the challenges of dwindling fossil fuels and climate change. Sadly both Lyons and Brown have gone nowhere near far enough.

Cllr. Philip Booth, Stroud District Green Party.