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'Greater personal responsibility for individuals and businesses'

News item | 16-09-2003

In future, the Minister and State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment will avoid introducing new rules and regulations to deal with each and every problem; individuals and businesses will be given greater responsibility for their own affairs.

Over the next four years, every piece of legislation within the remit of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment will be toned down, streamlined and where necessary improved. The main emphasis will be on implementation, compliance and enforcement. Minister Sybilla Dekker and State Secretary Pieter van Geel feel that individuals, businesses and other tiers of government should be given greater responsibility for their own affairs.

Land use and housing

In a single policy document on spatial planning, the government will indicate how, when and where land will be made available for housing, work, mobility, agriculture, wildlife and water. However, departures from agreed details of policy will be permitted under certain conditions.

To revitalise urban areas, the government will take steps to improve the quality of housing and public space, especially in problem neighbourhoods. Action must be taken to increase public safety in deprived areas and at the same time to attract people on medium and higher incomes back to the city. To achieve this, investments will be made in the restructuring of existing neighbourhoods and in new development projects.

Environmental policy

The key principle of environmental policy will still be that economic growth must not lead to increased pollution. Measures used by the government to achieve this 'uncoupling' will include more 'green' taxes.

The government aims to meet the climate control targets agreed in the Kyoto Protocol. This means that emissions of greenhouse gases over the 2008-2012 period must be reduced by 6% in comparison with 1990. However, State Secretary Pieter van Geel regards the Kyoto Protocol as 'only a modest step forward' and wishes to set a higher target for the post-2012 period. He suggests that, by 2030 at the latest, emissions of greenhouse gases by the industrialised countries should be reduced by 30% in comparison with 1990.

Cuts

Spending cuts will also be made. In 2004 cuts of €81 million, rising to €210 million in 2007, will be made in housing benefit (total expenditure €1.6 billion). Cuts have also been agreed in the budget for soil remediation and road and rail-related noise control measures.