With the Chancellor set to unveil his Budget tomorrow, local council leaders are warning that council taxpayers face a 1.5 billion pound bill over the next three years if the Government fails to meet its promise to return money raised from landfill tax to town halls. The Local Government Association says households will have to pay 70 pounds each and more than 80 council leaders have signed a letter calling for the pledge to be fulfilled. 

A new Customer Service Excellence standard has been launched to drive public services that are more responsive to people’s needs. The practical tool was unveiled by the Minister for Transformational Government, Tom Watson, who said it would help to deliver the change in culture that was needed. 

By Alex Bowerman
National road pricing has effectively been parked in the layby to await a climate change in public opinion, but a number of councils are considering local implementation as an effective response to traffic congestion. This paper critically examines the case for road pricing and discusses the optimal scale of charging systems. It examines a number of charging systems, including the M6 Toll, the London Congestion Charge and road pricing in Singapore.