Local Government Association vice-president Lord Shipley has blasted the Treasury for “curtailing the potential of tax increment financing.”
At the second reading of the Local Government Finance Bill in the House of Lords, Lord Shipley said the amount being proposed for TIF schemes amounted to a “very small sum”.
He added that it would be applied only in eight core English cities.
Chancellor George Osborne announced plans in the last Budget to make £150m available from 2013-2014 for TIF schemes, an amount which British Property Federation finance director Peter Cosmetatos labelled “small beer”.
At the House of Lords reading this week, shadow local government minister Lord McKenzie of Luton also blasted the amount being made available.
He said: “The dead hand of the Treasury in limiting this to £150m of infrastructure schemes has blunted its prospects.”
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
