Responding today to a government consultation paper on Best Value, LARAC – which represents recycling officers and other council officers involved in waste management – talks of the known stresses and strains that politics place on partnership working. In particular this is a factor among two tier authorities (districts and county councils), says the organisation.
LARAC surveyed its members and the findings have been given today in a letter to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, from Andy Doran, LARAC policy officer and deputy head of sustainable development for Surrey County council. Mr Doran writes that numerous respondents commented on the difficulties that politics can cause in areas covered by two tiers of local government.
“It is regrettable that in certain areas this factor alone is likely to limit the extent of partnership working on waste management. Government has made it clear that it intends the various elements of local government to work together towards the common aim of sustainable waste management and has sought leverage through the proposed statutory Municipal Waste Management Strategies. It is hoped that the measures proposed in this consultation paper will only assist local authorities in developing wider partnership working practices in spite of the known local frustrations.”
Legal barriers
The consultation paper was issued by the government because it is planning to remove legal barriers to help encourage innovative partnerships with the private, voluntary and public sectors. Among the proposals, which should become law next year, are to give the councils a general power to form and participate in corporate bodies and to let Best Value authorities delegate functions to local authority controlled companies. Of key importance to the waste sector is the proposal “to remove obstacles to the achievement of best value in waste management by repealing the divestment provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1990.”
These provisions currently require waste disposal authorities either to divest to the private sector or to transfer to “arms length” local authority companies their service delivery functions and to procure competitively tendered contracts. The requirements are seen as inconsistent with the idea that it is up to councils to work out what is best value for them.
Private sector
LARAC's survey found that most councils were working in some form of partnership, although only 28% with the private sector. While it is optimistic that this will be remedied through the proposal in the consultation paper, Mr Doran says “it is perhaps worrying that a higher percentage are not convinced of the benefits of the proposed changes to their ability to work in partnership with the private sector.”
Members of LARAC also said that while they welcomed the proposed lifting of the tendering constraints of the Environmental Protection Act they had some reservations. Lifting the constraints would give more freedom to local authorities when making waste management arrangements and remove some of the concerns over the legality of making arrangements with third parties which are outside the normal tendering procedure. The reservations were that the proposed changes “needed to be supplemented with provisions that enable the joining up of effective control arrangements to ensure that those entering partnerships have appropriate and accountable mechanisms of control over their statutory services.”
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