New research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed the shocking amounts of taxpayers’ cash that has almost literally gone up in smoke due to underperforming investments in energy companies by local authorities.
Thanks to the work of our superb research team we can reveal that 13 energy companies in receipt of council investment had a net loss of over ÂŁ74 million between 2016-17 and 2019-20. Of these, eight were council-owned and their losses totalled ÂŁ114 million in the same period.
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Out of the eight, only one registered a profit but dive a little deeper into the numbers and a fuller picture emerges. B&D Energy is owned by Barking and Dagenham council and recently posted profits of nearly £300,000. However, it received the largest amount of capital investment from taxpayers at £38.8 million and only has 477 customers at last count.
Our findings show the record of these council energy companies was woeful even before the current crisis. The rising cost of living is an understandable concern to many households, and the failures of these energy firms leave locals with the double whammy of rocketing bills and council tax hikes.Â
We are telling local authorities to stop experimenting in the energy market and focus on keeping council tax down.
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Brits demand Budget tackles the cost of living
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Last week, my colleague Scott Simmonds and I embarked on a whistlestop tour of the country to gauge the mood of the public ahead of next week’s Budget and the Spending Review. Covering over 600 miles in three days, we visited high streets in Sheffield, Long Eaton, Weston-super-Mare, Bristol, Newport and Headcorn in Kent.
We interviewed members of the public in each of these locations to ask them what they want to see from the chancellor’s Budget. We learned that the cost of living is probably the biggest issue for many taxpayers at the moment. Every single person we spoke to cited this as a major concern. They were deeply worried about the effect it will have on their bank balances.Â
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Perhaps unsurprisingly many people also felt that taxes were too high. As one man put it to us in Bristol, “Maybe if they lowered the taxes, people would have more disposable income and therefore they’d have a better standard of living.”
The British public is telling the chancellor loud and clear that we cannot tax our way into prosperity. Cutting taxes, eradicating wasteful spending and slashing red tape is the best way to get Britain booming again. We'll do everything possible to make sure he heeds those calls next week.
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As part of our War on Waste campaign, we revealed earlier this week that thousands of pounds from NHS health budgets were spent on luxuries including hot tubs, football tickets and PlayStations.Â
Freedom of information requests sent to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) reveal personal health budgets were used to spend ÂŁ5,000 on a hot tub from NHS North Tyneside CCG, ÂŁ579.98 from NHS Norfolk and Waveney CCG on a PlayStation 4 with VR package and ÂŁ3,000 from NHS West Sussex CCG for a National Trust membership, Merlin Pass and Chelsea FC season ticket.
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Taxpayers' cash was also splurged on pilates classes, horse riding, cinema visits and an electric mountain bike. Our findings were reported in The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, Daily Star and many local newspapers up and down the country.
We are calling on the government to ensure value for money in health spending, following the announcement of a national insurance hike to fund health and social care. Taxes on working people should not be going up to pay for health service hot tubs. The upcoming spending review needs to ensure the NHS is offering value for money in every pound it is spending.
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TaxPayers' Alliance in the news
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BBC refuses to reveal costs of new logo
Once again the BBC has sparked outrage over its redesigned logo. Not only does the logo look incredibly similar to the old one but in a shocking lack of transparency, the Beeb has rejected calls to reveal the costs involved - citing commercial sensitivity.Â
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Speaking to Kevin O'Sullivan live on talkRadio, our research director Duncan Simpson gave the BBC both barrels, saying, "The money - our money - has already been spent, so they can damn-well tell us!" Hear! Hear!
Rest assured, we'll be keeping the pressure on the BBC to reveal the costs. Licence fee payers have a right to know how their hard-earned cash is spent.
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Public sector pensions bigger than national debt
Analysis by the Daily Mail revealed that the cost of public sector pension promises total a shocking ÂŁ2.4 trillion. That's approximately ÂŁ300 billion higher than Britain's public national debt. We've long railed against generous public sector pensions and this latest information reveals why we are right to do so.
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As our media campaign manager Danielle Boxall told the Daily Mail, "Those in the public sector have pensions which private sector workers could only dream of. The current system is completely unsustainable."
We are telling ministers to act and rein in public sector pensions - the country simply cannot afford it.
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Should we have a meat tax?
Once again there have been suggestions that Britain should introduce a 'meat tax' to encourage "sustainable eating" and cut carbon emissions. From day one the TaxPayers' Alliance has campaigned against this ridiculous idea so we were more than eager to take part in a debate on GBNews.
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In a head-to-head with The Vegan Society's Sabrina Ahmed, our digital campaign manager Joe Ventre perfectly explained why this is such a bad idea. "For most families, particularly on lower incomes, meat is a cheap and reliable source of nutrition." Adding, "This idea of adding an arbitrary charge to meat products in the name of environmentalism will just appal most households in this country!"
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Taxpayers deserve a level playing field between HMRC and Jobcentre Plus
Taxpayers pay a small fortune for the welfare system. The benefits system cost a whopping ÂŁ249 billion last year, administered by JobCentre Plus. As our chief executive John O'Connell writes, "Few other parts of government are so involved with the finances of so many ordinary taxpayers - apart from perhaps HM Revenue and Customs."
Both are public bodies licensed with the ability to intervene in people’s finances, charged with the responsibilities of the public purse and expected to safeguard the sensible use of money. But there is one notable difference between the two: the tax system wouldn’t dream of treating people the way universal credit does.
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Dealing with HMRC is a famously laborious experience but they’re very aware that while members of the public might not like paying taxes, most of them tend to play by the rules. S adly, we can’t say the same about our universal credit system. The Public Interest Law Centre recently pointed to an example of a client who had been asked for a “photo of you next to your street sign with your right hand holding it” and a “photo of you holding your local newspaper for the area you live (not a national tabloid paper). This should be dated the same day as you upload the photo.”
Whether it’s HMRC or Jobcentre Plus, both are paid for by taxpayers. We’d all prefer there was no need for either, but that’s not the case. As it stands, both are essential - and taxpayers should expect the same approach from both. Click here to read more. |
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Harry Fone
Grassroots Campaign Manager
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