The Association for Public Excellence (APSE) issued the warning today (November 17) following the Department for Communities and Local Government’s provisional commitment to slash around 30% of its spending over the next four years.
DCLG is among four departments – along with Defra, the Treasury and the Department for Transport – to have reached the agreement in order to bring public finances back into surplus by 2019/20.
But some councils and organisations have warned that the impending cuts, which will be fleshed out in Chancellor George Osborne’s upcoming spending review, will have a lasting impact on councils already struggling to provide quality services.
‘Risk’
Paul O’Brien, APSE chief executive, argued there was a “real risk” that recycling and waste services will “rapidly deteriorate” under the government’s plan.
He said: “Early indications suggest 30% cuts from DCLG but it is not yet clear how this will filter down to council budgets. Whilst councils have had to manage down budgets we are now at a tipping point where there is a real risk services are no longer sustainable.
“Waste and recycling services are under increasing pressure to recycle more, avoid landfill and balance their departmental budgets. I feel we may now start to see the sector improvements seriously slowing down, especially in areas which may need further investment to take recycling and waste reduction to the next level.
“We must recognise that the public will start to notice a more rapid deterioration in local services if the recent level of budget cuts continue.”
LARAC
The view was echoed by Andrew Bird, chair of the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC), who commented councils would likely resort to more joint working to overcome the financial squeeze.
He said: “It’s clearly going to have a significant impact. Authorities are going to be prioritising services that are statutory requirements only, and even these will come under scrutiny in terms of efficiencies and savings. We can’t honestly say in-house is going to be a cheaper option for all councils but it is likely we are going to see more partnership working.”
And, Steve Palfrey, chair of the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers, added: “Over the last two years we have seen councils managing very effectively the reduction in budgets that we have had to deal with day to day. Their decisions will get harder and harder as those budgets get smaller and smaller.”
Hammersmith
In light of the announcement of further budget cuts coming down the line from central government, the Labour-run London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has declared that it will retain weekly refuse collections in spite of new pressures.
Councillor Stephen Cowan, council leader, said: “Clearly at a time when the government is making such huge cuts, there will be many vested interests who will want to scare-monger about how those cuts might appear. But we reaffirm that we will continue to prioritise key council services, such as bin collections, for our residents while we make sure that we continue to keep council tax low.
“Government cuts in public spending have forced half of all councils up and down the country to reduce the frequency of refuse and recycling collections, but that’s not going to happen here in Hammersmith & Fulham.”
Departments
Other departments to have agreed spending cuts averaging 21% earlier today include the Department for Work and Pensions, DECC, HMRC, the Cabinet Office, Scotland Office, Wales Office and Northern Ireland Office.
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