GREATER Manchester taxpayers have been hit with a £6.6m bill - to pay for the bid to bring in a congestion charge.
Council chiefs have spent a massive £9.8m applying to ministers for £3bn worth of public transport improvements, in return for a peak-hour, pay-to-drive charge of up to £5 a day.
Local politicians were given £3.2m by the government to bankroll the bid - but consultants' fees and a consultation exercise mean that this figure has been left way behind.
The remaining £6.6m is being paid for through council tax bills and reserves - even though there is no guarantee that the bid will be successful.
The costs include money spent on 'expert advice' on potential charging schemes, and mathematical `models' of how congestion might increase in Greater Manchester over the next decade. Bid chiefs are known to have drafted in consultants from KPMG to help.
Councils behind the move defended their spending, saying it was a price worth paying to try to secure 'a £3bn transport revolution for current and future generations'.
But Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley and an opponent of the charge, said 'far too much' had been spent on a 'wild goose chase'.
Response
"Nobody else is interested in this money if it means congestion charging," he said. "The councils' response to being blackmailed is to pay three times the ransom demand."
Greater Manchester's 10 local councils voted by an eight-to-two majority last month to press ahead with a bid for £1.2bn from the government's Transport Innovation Fund (TIF), plus permission to borrow £1.8bn more against projected profits of the charge.
Tory-led Trafford and Lib Dem Stockport were the only authorities to vote `No'.
The bid was based on months of work looking at how congestion could increase and sifting through different possible charging schemes. There was also a huge consultation scheme, which included leaflets about sent to every household, and a survey of 5,000 residents by pollsters GfK-NOP.
Greater Manchester was among ten areas given government money to prepare a bid and is. so far the only area to formally submit a TIF bid - at a total cost of £9.84m. Of that, £1m is from the reserves of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive - 'rainy day' money - but £4.94m is from the annual budget, which is paid out of council tax bills.
A spokesman for the Greater Manchester TIF bid said the cost reflected the scale of the work and the benefits would be felt for generations.
What do you think? Have your say below.
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£6.6m c-charge bill
August 14, 2007
Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
Happyblue, Failsworth (14/08/2007 at 07:05)
We should riot
The french would,say's something about us that doesn't it.
WE have to PAY for a bid,to bring in a charging system that,The majority of people DON'T want.
SO MUCH FOR THE FREE WORLD
Forward with Frank (14/08/2007 at 07:31)
There are far better things to spend £6.6m on. The council have spent £6.6m or OUR money asking the government for millions of pounds of OUR money!
shayla (14/08/2007 at 07:38)
And will the government remove the 5% cap on council tax annual increase to help get more money? they seem good a changing the rules when it suits them.
IT'S TOTAL MADNESS !
shayla (14/08/2007 at 07:55)
IF WE ALL STICK TOGETHER AND FIGHT, THEY WILL HAVE TO STOP IT. DON'T LET THEM LEAD YOU AROUND LIKE SHEEP !
You can start by looking here for more info. of how to fight back.
www.manchestertolltax.com
Peanut (14/08/2007 at 08:12)
Robert Tocker, Cadishead (14/08/2007 at 08:25)
Black Sabbath (14/08/2007 at 08:26)
The Catcher, In the Rye (14/08/2007 at 08:34)
traffordtroublemaker (14/08/2007 at 08:37)
I think its time to take to the streets!!!
Forward with Frank (14/08/2007 at 08:43)
How do such incompetents get into councils? There are mostly ex teachers with no idea of the workings of the real world. I for one wouldn't employ a single one of them.
Manchester Against Road Tolls (14/08/2007 at 09:21)
There will be an army of bureaucrats, executives, consultants, public relations people, lobbyists, bankers and financial advisers all waiting to get their hands on the money.
If this idea is not killed soon there could be hundreds of millions of pounds spent without getting one extra bus or tram on the road.
Mike, Manchester (14/08/2007 at 09:35)
Black Sabbath (14/08/2007 at 09:51)
Black Flag (14/08/2007 at 09:56)
I'd much rather see public transport funded by a large increase in fuel duty.
Simon B, www.manchestertolltax.com (14/08/2007 at 10:05)
ace, manchester (14/08/2007 at 10:20)
ace, manchester (14/08/2007 at 10:45)
Munkey Boy, Audenshaw, Manchester (14/08/2007 at 10:54)
a) 2 guys down the pub writing on the back of an envelope or
b) by professionals who have careers to understand and design such a highly complex scheme? (Remembering it's not just the charge that needs designing but also the public transport improvements)
Answers on a postcard please!
Chris, Irlam (14/08/2007 at 10:55)
But, as per usual, when bad news surfaces about this 'Toll Tax TiF bid' the pro-toll trolls are nowhere to be seen....no doubt getting fat at the taxpayer's expense....
ace, manchester (14/08/2007 at 11:25)
Labour has always took the voters into debt,just look at how much maney was in the chest when this present government came into power ?millions a absolute fortune but within months they were in the red and had to borrow even more and theve just kept on borrowing .And all our gold reserves have been handed to europe? nothing in the pot.
Mike (14/08/2007 at 11:39)
Congratulations to the councillors, you've just earned a massive payrise from the 6.6 million bill.
VOTE LABOUR OUT, its true that the idiots are running the asylum
paul teeque (14/08/2007 at 11:41)
£6.6 million to force Manchester drivers to pay an extra £2080 a year in tax!
DISGUSTING
paul teeque (14/08/2007 at 11:48)
since Mid july when schools broke up, my journey into work has taken 10 -15 minutes and getting home in 10 minutes on some days. Ive seen one day of bad traffic in 3 weeks!
It disgusts me to think Dicky Leese wants me to pay £8 a day Congestion charge when in reality ive yet to see any real congestion!
Forward with Frank (14/08/2007 at 12:00)
Ian (14/08/2007 at 12:21)
1. Get a list of all GM councillors candidates from the last election published.
2. Write to your local candidates and ask for their views on the C-Charge, so you know how you need to vote if you're dead against (or even for) the C-Charge.
3. Maybe MART can set up its own party for the next election with volunteers prepared to stand in the next local elections?
4. Sit back and watch how many councillors lose their seats.