The caring country

Britain has the highest property taxes in the world

Soaring council taxes have sent the UK to the top of the league table compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The figures show British households pay 64 per cent more in property duties than the French and seven times more than German homeowners.

Congestion charging rolled out across Britain.

In an attempt to force more drivers out of their cars and on to public transport, ministers have encouraged local authorities to copy the scheme introduced in London. Manchester's plans are well under way.

Families forced to squeeze their rubbish into extra-small wheelie bins or risk a £1,000 fine under Labour plans to crack down on household waste.

A Government report called for the nationwide introduction of 'bonsai bins', a little more than half the size of the 240-litre models, to encourage households to separate their rubbish for recycling.

And the guidelines warned against letting larger families keep the old big bins because other households might suffer from 'bin envy'.

People who fail to cram all their non-recyclable waste into the 140-litre European-style wheelie bins faced criminal prosecution if they leave extra rubbish on the street in bags.

Labour's bin initiative came amid the continuing controversy over rubbish taxes and the scrapping of weekly collections - 180 town halls empty bins only once a fortnight.

Norwich Council will be the first authority to link parking permit prices to vehicle length in a move which will raise millions of pounds in extra revenue.

The Local Government Association said many other town halls were watching the experiment 'with great interest' with a view to copying the scheme.

A number of town halls are already penalising drivers of 'gas-guzzling' larger cars by linking parking costs to vehicle emissions. But the Norwich scheme marks a change by charging according to the car's dimensions, with vehicles divided into three bands.

Patients' rights and responsibilities are to be spelled out in a new NHS "contract".

It is likely to cover core treatments to which they are entitled, minimum waiting times and the right to be treated in clean hospitals.

But with the rights will come the responsibility to lead a healthy lifestyle. There were fears last night that this could lead to smokers and people who drink or eat too much being refused treatments.

Already around one in ten hospitals refuse to carry out joint replacements for obese patients or orthopaedic surgery on smokers.

Of course the most lucrative stealth taxes in Britain are those on alcohol and tobacco. The taxes are so high, I'm surprised anyone can afford to smoke and drink anymore. There was a proposal to put a tax on unhealthy foods but even the Labour Government found that one too controversial.