Extra council tax due despite fewer refuse collections during cold snap

It has been announced that many households whose rubbish was left uncollected by the refuse service over the Christmas period and during the cold snap that followed could actually end up paying more council tax as a result of this. As a result of the bad weather less rubbish was recycled and instead ended up in landfills, which resulted in extra tax being incurred. Read more

Tags: Recycling, Landfill in the United Kingdom, Recyclable materials, Taxation in the United Kingdom, Waste management, Sustainability, environment

Bill for losses from floods could be more than £100 million

It has been estimated that the bill for the losses that were suffered in the recent and devastating floods in Cumbria could come to more than £100 million, according to a recent report. Hundred and homes and businesses were affected after flood defences failed to provide protection when rivers burst their banks in Cumbria, Dumfries, and Southern Scotland, causing devastating levels of damage and huge losses. Read more

Tags: Disaster_Accident, Association of British Insurers, weather, insurance providers, finance, environment

Why aren’t the energy firms reducing gas and electricity bills?

Over the past year the UK’s energy giants have increased gas and electricity bills twice, leaving many consumers paying a fortune for their energy usage and resulting in an increased level of fuel poverty amongst UK households. Many are concerned that energy companies are very quick to increase energy prices when oil prices and wholesale energy prices rise but when prices fall they are slow to pass on any price cuts. Read more

Tags: cut, UK's energy giants, energy suppliers, energy prices, whilst

Carbon neutral targets looking ambitious

The government’s plans to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2016 have been given a huge vote of no confidence.

A survey of mortgage intermediaries, published by UCB Home Loans, has found that two thirds believe the target will not be achieved.

With just nine years remaining until the government’s target has to be achieved, the intermediaries pointed to the fact that fewer than 30 homes in the UK are currently carbon neutral.

This makes the 2016 target seem laughable and intermediaries were just as damming when asked if they thought the country would reach its carbon emission targets.

The government has set itself the task of reducing emissions by 60 per cent by the year 2050 but 44 per cent of intermediaries think that a target of 50 per cent would be ambitious.

“The views of intermediaries are important, because they are responsible for arranging a large proportion of all home loans – including new build developments,” said Keith Astill, managing director of UCB Homes Loans. “They deal directly with homebuyers and so are ideally placed to make a judgment.

“Whilst part of the reduction in carbon emissions will need to come from industry, the research indicates that most people are not yet aware of the actions that they will need to take if the UK is to meet its targets on carbon emissions.”

The research found that 98 per cent of intermediaries believe homeowners do not know the size of their carbon footprint even though the 21 million homes in the UK are responsible for 27 per cent of the country’s emissions.

Tags: director, country, footprint, Climatology, nine years, environment, carbon emissions, ucb homes