Defra was "too slow" to respond to the 1999 EU Directive setting member states a timescale for reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill - meaning that the UK is now at risk of failing to meet its targets, a national watchdog has found.

According to a report published by the National Audit Office today (January 14), the Department "sat on its hands" for four years after the Landfill Directive was published, and only in 2003 developed a practical national strategy involving local authorities using PFI to procure new waste treatment plants.

As a result of Defra's early failure to recognise and promptly tackle the complex issues in building the required waste plants, the new plants are very slow to come on stream

 
Edward Leigh MP, chairman of committee of public accounts

As a result of this "early failure", Edward Leigh MP, chairman of the committee of public accounts, said that so far only two waste treatment facilities had been completed and were in operation - meaning that there was a "very real danger" of failing to meet the 2013 waste reduction target and that councils may be clobbered with fines.

He said: "It actually took the department until 2003 to develop a practical national strategy involving local authorities using PFI to procure new waste treatment plants. And it wasn't until 2006 that it set up a national unit for managing delivery of the programme. This delivery unit gradually improved matters.

"But, as a result of Defra's early failure to recognise and promptly tackle the complex issues in building the required waste plants, the new plants are very slow to come on stream," he added.

Despite these claims, the National Audit Office claimed that the Department had since undertaken moves to accelerate the roll-out of larger projects through the introduction of the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme (WIDP) in 2006 and organisation of procurement had improved.

Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said: "Defra is doing a lot to accelerate the programme of new waste treatment facilities being procured through private finance. But, at the rate at which projects are being delivered, England is at risk of missing the 2013 EU landfill reduction target, leaving the UK open to the possibility of fines.

"The Department will need to work hard with local authorities to achieve the planned programme of new waste treatment facilities, particularly now when private finance is difficult to raise," he added.

Landfill

The 54-page report claims that meeting the 2010 landfill target is likely. However, it said that the 2013 target to reduce biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill by 7.5 million tonnes per annum would be dependent on facilities funded from both PFI and non-PFI schemes becoming operational in time.

And, it claimed that delays to PFI delivery and the current financial climate meant that the UK could be landed with fines ranging from £8 million to £366 million.

Findings

Other findings included that the average delay in the delivery of a PFI contract has been 19 months compared to the original timetables, with the need to improve Outline Business Cases, problems in achieving planning permission and the current financial markets cited as the main stumbling blocks.

Tendering times tended to last 34 months, with it taking between five and nine years for facilities under PFI contracts to become operational. It was outlined that Defra wished to set a 24 month target for future procurements, despite only four, relatively simple, procurements being completed in this time-frame.

The document also identified that there was a relatively small pool of bidders applying for PFI deals, with SITA UK and Veolia Environmental Services winning 10 out of 18 PFI waste contracts let to date.

However, it did claim that "more new entrants are currently engaged in projects at an advanced stage of negotiations".

In a series of recommendations for Defra's existing delivery strategy, the National Audit Office suggested that local authorities should be given greater support during the construction phase of a PFI contract, which would see monitoring become quarterly rather than every six months.

And, the report claimed that key performance indicators, benchmark information for the cost of different types of technology, and greater financial security through differential analysis should be investigated by Defra as a means of the improving the value-for-money of the scheme.

Responses

Reaction to the report came from both council leaders and Defra - which is currently working with local authorities to help meet the challenging 2013 targets (see letsrecycle.com story (see letsrecycle.com story).

A Defra spokesperson said: "This report acknowledges that the PFI programme is progressing well and, even though meeting the 2013 target has always been a challenge, government and local authorities are working hard together to meet it."

Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, used the opportunity to once again call for a return of landfill tax to help fund the much-needed facilities.

He said: "Councils are pulling out the stops to deliver projects that will deal with waste. But the reality is the Government has hit the council taxpayer with a £1.5 billion bill over the next three years by going back on its undertaking to refund money raised through landfill tax to local authorities. This is cash that could be used to build the facilities that are needed to divert waste away from landfill.

"There remain many barriers to building the waste disposal plants that the country needs. Ultimately the cost of dealing with our waste will be higher in the long term if we do not start to take action now," he added.