Airspace Consultation
I recently wrote to the Transport Secretary to request a consultation event on airspace changes should be held in Wokingham. I have now received the enclosed reply from the Secretary of State.
Letter on Nattional Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed
I have received the enclosed letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, confirming that the proposed increase to National Insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed will no longer go ahead.
Press release: Public consultation for Rivenhall incinerator
Two drop-in sessions are being held in Coggeshall and Silver End to explain and discuss a proposal for an Integrated Waste Management Facility on the former Rivenhall Airfield site in Essex.
Following the Environment Agency’s decision in December 2016 to refuse Gent Fairhead & Co. Ltd’s application for an Environmental Permit to operate the facility, they have submitted a new application.
Environment Agency staff will be at public drop-ins to discuss the proposals with people and explain their role in permitting and regulating this type of facility. The sessions are:
Monday 20 March, 2pm to 7pm, Silver End Village Hall, Broadway, Silver End CM8 3RQ
Friday 31 March, 2pm to 7pm, Christ Church, Stoneham Street, Coggeshall CO6 1UH
They will explain what will happen and how people can be involved during the consultation and decision-making process. Officers from Essex County Council will also be on hand to answer planning-related questions.
An Environmental Permit from the Environment Agency needs to be in place before the plant can start operating. Environmental Permits contain specific conditions and emission limits that must be complied with while the plant is operating.
The Environment Agency’s role is to consider the environmental impacts the plant could have on human health, air, water, land, habitats and species of animals and plants. It also looks at noise levels, energy efficiency and the sustainability of the plant.
The first application was refused last year because the company had failed to demonstrate that the design of the waste plant would use Best Available Techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions and their impact on the environment. In particular, the company failed to demonstrate that the proposed incinerator stack height was BAT.
Frank Saunders, Team Leader at the Environment Agency said:
Gent Fairhead & Co. Ltd’s revised proposals include a change to the height of the incinerator stack. We encourage local people to come to the drop-ins to find out more about the latest proposals. We’d like to hear their thoughts and concerns to make sure we consider local representations in our decision making process.
The consultation period on this permit application started on 9 March and closes on 13 April 2017.
At the drop-ins people will be able to see the full application and make comments on it.
Further copies of the application (EPR/FP3335YU/A001) will be available at the Environment Agency offices, Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Kelvedon CO5 9SE, as well as the public libraries in Coggeshall and Kelvedon.
It is also available on GOV.UK:here
Comments on the permit application should be sent to the Environment Agency’s National Permitting Service in Sheffield at either the postal or email address below, or submitted online here
Environment Agency, Permitting and Support Centre, Land Team, Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue
Sheffield S9 4WF
Or by email: pscpublicresponse@environment-agency.gov.uk
BCC: pause for thought on NICs is welcome
Commenting on the statement by Chancellor Philip Hammond pausing the rise in National Insurance Contributions for the self-employed, Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“The NICs rise, together with the cut to dividend tax-free allowances, was not viewed favourably by entrepreneurs – so this move and pause for thought are welcome. It would be far better to look at business and employment taxation in the round, to ensure that our tax system is competitive and equitable.”
Ends
Notes to editors:
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) sits at the heart of a powerful network of 52 Accredited Chambers of Commerce across the UK, representing thousands of businesses of all sizes and within all sectors. Our Global Business Network connects exporters with nearly 40 markets around the world. For more information, visit: www.britishchambers.org.uk
Media contacts:
Allan Williams – Senior Press Manager
020 7654 5812 / 07920583381
Orla Hennessy – Press and Communications Officer
020 7654 5813 / 07825746812
John McDonnell response to the Government’s u-turn on £2 billion NICs rise in the Budget
John
McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor,
responding to the Government’s u-turn on its £2 billion NICs rise in the Budget
last week, said:
“This
is a humiliating reversal for the Chancellor forced upon him by Labour’s
opposition. His authority is now shredded after just one Budget, and he tore up
a manifesto commitment to do it.
“We
welcome the Government’s decision to finally listen to Labour’s calls made in
Jeremy Corbyn’s Budget response along with those of business groups like the
Federation of Small Businesses to not go ahead with an unfair £2bn tax rise on
low and middle earners. But they should never have been placed in this position
to start with, and now we face yet another Tory Budget only a year on with a
blackhole in the billions. In 2015, we had the tax credit shambles. In 2016, we
had Personal Independence Payments reversal. Now in 2017 we have the u-turn on
National Insurance Contributions.
"There will be millions of working people who are now breathing a sigh of
relief, but it is the Chancellor who should be holding his breath as
this episode throws up urgent questions that he and the Cabinet must now
answer.
“Did the
Prime Minister or the rest of the Cabinet, who must have seen the Budget in
advance and known this measure was to be implemented, raise their concerns with
the Chancellor before he announced it, worrying millions of families? It was in
the weekend papers before the Budget so they can’t say they were unaware it was
to happen.
“This is also the second year we have had a Tory Budget with a black hole in it
worth billions. This is not acceptable. What will he do to fill the shortfall
in a Budget he delivered less than a week ago without pursuing unfair tax
increases or further cuts to public services? As the Budget will still see
working people £1,400 worse off under the Government.
"On
the day the Brexit Secretary has admitted that he hasn’t looked into the costs
of the Prime Minister’s negotiating strategy, this is yet more proof that there
is disarray at the top of a government clearly making things up as they go
along.
"We need answers from the Chancellor and accountability at the top of
government. In no workplace would such practices be allowed to continue, and it
should not be allowed from those responsible for the public finances. Labour’s
new roundtable on self-employment will bring together business organisations,
trade unions and self-employed groups to lay out a serious and realistic
strategy to provide a fair deal for the self-employed at a time of major labour
market changes. We are proud to be the party of working people, small
businesses, and the self-employed.”