How green was the Budget?
12 December 2018
The Environmental Audit Committee holds a one-off session to scrutinise the green credentials of the Government's proposals for tax changes and spending commitments outlined in the 2018 Budget, as well as asking what the Government missed out in light of the Clean Growth Strategy.
- Watch Parliament TV: How green was the Budget?
- Inquiry: How green was the Budget?
- Environmental Audit Committee
Witnesses
Wednesday 12 December 2018, Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
At 14.15
- Nick Molho, Executive Director, Aldersgate Group
- Julian Kirby, Lead Plastics-Free Campaigner, Friends of the Earth
- Josh Burke, Policy Fellow, UK Climate and Energy Policy, Grantham Research Institute
At 15.15
- Robert Jenrick MP, Exchequer Secretary, HM Treasury
- Philip Duffy, Director, Enterprise and Growth Unit, HM Treasury
- Neil Kenward, Deputy Director, Energy, Environment and Agriculture, HM Treasury
- Anne-Therese Farmer, Deputy Director, Energy and Transport Tax, HM Treasury
The Budget has been criticised for being light on environmental commitments. In particular, the absence of a latte levy, a 25p charge on disposable cups, has been a surprise to the Committee.
MPs inquired into the matter last year, and their recommendations for a disposable cups charge followed the successful introduction of a charge on plastic bags, which saw significant reductions in their usage. Government plans to consult on a single-use plastics tax, as well as frozen fuel duty are also likely to be considered during the evidence session.