There are reports in the national press today that the government may be carrying out a ‘fire sale’ of government-owned possessions in order to reduce the national debt. This would include the Dartford Crossing, and a huge, but alarmingly vague, amount of council assets.
As the Daily Mail tells it:
Gordon Brown’s ?16billion sell-off of public assets to cut the national deficit came under fire today.
The Prime Minister said an initial round of disposals – including the Tote, the Dartford crossing, the Channel Tunnel rail link, the student loan book and the stake in uranium enrichment consortium Urenco – could bring in ?3billion over the next two years.
Much of the remaining funds would be realised by encouraging local authorities to exchange assets for cash.
But local government chiefs said they had not been consulted on the proposed sales despite being expected to dispose of assets.
Betting experts also predicted that the sale of the Tote could rake in less than ?20million, compared with the ?400million the Government had previously sought for it.
And to clinch the argument they quote Vince Cable:
Liberal Democrat treasury spokesman Vince Cable said it would be ‘barmy’ to sell off swathes of Government-owned land in such a depressed market.
‘Given the state of the public finances, asset sales, at least in principle, make sense,’ Mr Cable said.
‘However, this government does not have a good track record in getting the taxpayer a good price from asset sales.
‘Attempts to sell off large amounts of government land into a very depressed market as we have now would be frankly barmy.
‘These asset sales should be based on a financial calculation not a political one’
The Guardian reports on it as well, covering worries about increasing toll charges, and the local government angle:
Separately, the AA expressed concern about the plans to privatise the bridge and tunnel crossing over the Thames at Dartford.
The AA said Whitehall had already “reneged” on an earlier promise that tolls would cease when the crossing was paid for.Although the crossing was paid for by 2002, the government introduced new legislation which enabled the fee to become a charge and not a toll.
AA president Edmund King said today: “Motorists will not care who owns the Dartford crossing but they do care about the level of tolls. We cannot have the private sector dictating the level of toll that motorists should pay on the most important motorway in the UK that motorists have already paid for many times over in tolls and taxation.”
Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, complained that councils had not been consulted about the plan.
“As a matter of routine councils sell off unwanted assets but always make sure that they get the best value for money for the local taxpayer,” Eaton said.“Local government will dispose of assets if they are not required but, given the current financial climate, this is not a good time to sell. It needs to be local councils working with local people deciding when, or if, there is a right time to sell assets.
“The proposals need to be fleshed out further. What sort of assets are councils being expected to sell? Does it include school playing fields, cemeteries or libraries? If a council does not believe that a specific asset should be sold, how do we avoid protracted legal wrangling that would cost the taxpayer money?”
That last paragraph from Margaret Eaton raises some very good points. And what about council-owned parks, as well?