How many times have you been told by government to ‘go green’? You must walk to work, take public transport (especially on subsidised Venezuelan oil) and recycle. Such is the self-imposed need to lecture us taxpayers to go green that government has spawned yet another taxpayer-funded industry, this time in the field of climate change.
Part of the reason your council tax bills are going up is down to the government’s nannying addiction over climate change. Each week in the Guardian jobs pages (where else?) there’s a drip-drip of green jobs coming out of our councils at an enormous cost to the taxpayer. Our non-job this week is one of these jobs, not because it’s ‘green’ but because it has the added bonus of being extraordinarily hypocritical. See if you can spot it:
Green Infrastructure Officer
Heritage and Environment Service, £29,728 - £32,436 pa + Relocation Expenses + Essential Car User Allowance
Creating Sustainable Communities
Bedfordshire is a wonderfully rich and varied county, with the Chiltern Hills and Woburn Abbey, attractive river valleys, market towns and villages, and an industrial heritage that includes hat factories and brickworks. It is at the centre of government growth areas and is planning to provide 59,000 new houses and 50,000 new jobs by 2021. Your challenge is to combine the two and help make the county an even better place to live.
‘Green Infrastructure’ is being built into plans for the future and will provide a network of landscapes, wildlife and heritage sites, public open spaces and routes. It will enhance people’s quality of life and sense of place.
The Bedfordshire and Luton Green Infrastructure Consortium - public and voluntary bodies including national agencies, local authorities and countryside projects - takes the lead. You will work with the Consortium and other partners to promote the Strategic Green Infrastructure Strategy, secure funding and deliver significant amounts of high quality green infrastructure.
A degree (or equivalent) and a proven track record in related work are essential. You must be able to build consensus across a range of partners, have the presentation and communication skills to represent the Consortium, and be a strong and successful advocate for green infrastructure.”
Did you spot it? Of course you did, alert readers. Your council tax is going to pay for yet more local government perks. With honourable and – here’s the important point - voluntary organisations out there with advice for those who want to go green, why does government feel it needs to divert taxpayers’ money from frontline services to fund car-driving climate change officers?
Feel free to make this point, and others you might have, to the Bedfordshire on Sunday newspaper by emailing the editor at: [email protected]
As always, this is your campaign because it is your money at stake. Keep up the fight in holding government to account!