Member Article

Tax-break scheme 10th anniversary brings North East windfall

More than £19m has been given to local community, social and environmental projects across the North East by companies operating landfill sites. The windfall comes as a tax break scheme to help offset the effects of landfill upon local communities celebrates its tenth anniversary.

North East schemes that have benefited under the latest round of funding include educating primary school children on waste management, provision of gardens at a children’s hospice and recreating lowland heath.

The Landfill Communities Fund, which provides companies with a way of ploughing a slice of the money that would have been due in tax back into the local community, was extended in the Budget 2006. The expansion means that landfill operators are able to give a greater proportion of their Landfill Tax liability – a tax paid on waste – to the fund, effectively putting an extra £10m a year into local schemes. And environmental bodies are now being actively encouraged to use this extra money to provide opportunities for youth volunteering through their projects.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Healey said: “The additional money for the scheme in this year’s Budget will boost the involvement of youth volunteers in environmental projects - therefore also supporting the Government’s drive to encourage more volunteering and activities for young people.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .