‘Today’s Budget does not go quite far enough to make the Chancellor the Darling of the countryside, but it contains some encouraging measures. We hope it marks the first step on the path to a greener economy.’

This was the reaction of CPRE’s [1] Head of Campaigns, Ben Stafford, to today’s Budget statement by the Chancellor, Alistair Darling.

TRANSPORT

Ben Stafford said:

‘The major disappointment today is that much of what Mr Darling said about transport policy doesn’t live up to the pre-Budget environmental spin. The Budget statement contains little to suggest that the Chancellor has abandoned the “ostrich approach” to aviation policy, hoping that its climate change impacts might go away if they are ignored.’

On road transport, Mr Darling is sending confusing signals. The promise of funding to examine road-pricing proposals is encouraging, but the Chancellor’s hope that technology will deliver significant cuts in emissions from road transport looks wildly optimistic.

Ben Stafford said:

‘Reforms to Vehicle Excise Duty to encourage people to buy more efficient cars are all very well, but no substitute for demand management. Mr Darling should have had the courage to raise fuel duty now, with revenues going to improve public transport. Reduced car use would be good for climate change, and would reduce pressure for new road-building that damages our countryside.’

HOUSING

Mr Darling devoted a significant passage in his Budget speech to the need for housing market stability. Ben Stafford said:

‘We welcome the Chancellor’s support for affordable housing, but the Government must address this challenge in rural as well as urban areas. So the funding pledged for new, affordable and social housing is the right approach. We hope to see more of this, and less of the view expressed elsewhere by Mr Darling that simply building more and more houses will deliver affordability.’

PLASTIC BAGS

A bold and eye-catching Budget initiative is the announcement that, unless there is sufficient progress by retailers to cut the use of single-use plastic bags voluntarily, legislation to impose a charge on their use will come into force next year. Litter despoils our towns and countryside, and the tide of plastic bags is a depressingly familiar part of the problem.

Ben Stafford concluded:

‘With limited signs that a voluntary approach to tackling the blight of plastic bags will work, the Government is right to flag more robust measures through this Budget. Litter is a highly visible problem that suggests a lack of concern for the state of our towns and countryside. The Government is showing today that it can take a lead in addressing these issues, although it must make sure that “sufficient progress” in tackling plastic bags really is sufficient, and fulfil its promise to legislate if not.’

– END –

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England. We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside. Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county. President: Bill Bryson. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk