The Global Warming Industry in Local Government

Yesterday the Sunday Telegraph reported on a TaxPayers' Alliance study of local government's attempts to fight global warming:

"Using figures obtained from 25 councils across England and Wales, the Taxpayers' Alliance, a pressure group, calculated that councils on average now employ eight people to work on green issues. If that figure were repeated across all 442 councils in the UK, the total number of council staff employed to deal with the environmental agenda would be 3,494. The average salary paid to such staff was £29,283, suggesting a total expenditure by councils across the UK of £102 million.

News of the spending comes as many local authorities face criticism for axing weekly rubbish collections and reducing long-term care for the elderly. Help the Aged recently warned it was "deeply worried" about councils slashing the number of people eligible for carers in their homes and underinvestment in residential care. Since 1997/98, the average council tax bill has almost doubled from £564 to £1,078."

The study found that:

• On average, 8 people work on climate change in each council.  If the same is true in all the 442 councils that means 3,494 local government employees working to prevent global warming across Great Britain.  If they are all paid at the mid-point advertised for the (quite junior) Islington Carbon Reduction Advisor's role their total salaries could add up to over £102 million.
• Tower Hamlets employed the most with 58 staff working on climate change.  As we blogged last week, despite this and a Corporate Director of Environment and Culture earning £148,173.38, Tower Hamlets has the worst recycling record in the country.  Tower Shamlets indeed.

Matthew Sinclair, Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:

“Council tax has doubled in a decade and town halls are spending more and more of our money just so they can say that they are doing something to tackle climate change.  Local bureaucrats are wasting huge amounts of staff time and huge amounts of our money trying to save the planet.  It is an expensive and futile gesture when China is building big coal power plants every ten days.”

Download The Global Warming Industry in Local Government (PDF)

Comments

[Sandra Hurst]

I read with interest your article in the Sunday Telegraph. I live in South Glos. which has a 'good' rated council, but I have recieved a letter from them stating that there is at least a 9 month waiting list for social services to assess my 81yr old mother. I don't know how much money they spend on green issues. Yours faithfully,

Sandra Hurst

[Sandra Hurst]

I read with interest the article in the Telegraph on Sunday. I live in South Glos which has been rated a 'good' council. When I requested help with my 81yr old mother I was told by social services that there is at least a 9month waiting list. I don't know how much South Glos spend on green issues.

Yours faithfully, Sandra Hurst

[G Huckvale]

How much CO2 would be produced for £102 million each year?
I hope they off set alot trees.