The committee meeting on Tuesday saw Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent's Park and Kensington, North, calling for the Mayor to be handed control over waste disposal for London's 32 boroughs.
– Michael Gove MP
But after a debate that saw opposition across the Parties, Ms Buck accepted she had not won over enough of her colleagues.
The GLA Bill will give some extra powers to the Mayor on waste management (see letsrecycle.com story), but the bid to give him a single waste authority has not gained support from the government.
Buck
Arguing for her amendment to the Bill to force establishment of the single waste authority, Ms Buck said: “The existing arrangements and changes proposed by the government are not capable of bringing about the step change in waste management that will be necessary if we are to offer Londoners the most efficient and effective waste management strategy and avoid liability for potentially extensive fines for landfill in future.”
Claiming the government's insistence on current arrangements was only concerned with short term targets, she said London's dependence on large-scale incineration plants led to a “false confidence” in the city's ability to meet landfill targets, particularly after 2010. “The real tipping point with landfill targets will come between 2010 and 2013,” she said, “but many London authorities have no plans or procurements to ensure that there will be an infrastructure in place to cope with that tipping point.”
Ms Buck compared London unfavourably with other global cities and warned that estimated fines for missing landfill targets could cost the city 35 million in 2010, rising to 139 million in 2013 and 232 million by 2020.
Government
Opposition to Ms Buck's proposed amendment was led by the Minister for London, Jim Fitzpatrick, who said the government had “not seen any convincing evidence to suggest that a single waste authority for London will deliver improvements in waste management or cost efficiencies.”
He said: “In fact, we believe that we have seen contrary evidence, suggesting that a single waste disposal authority could result in extra costs to the government and extra costs to the boroughs, and could put our landfill diversion targets at risk. If the UK failed in its targets, the resulting fines could be equivalent to as much as 5 per cent. on the council tax bills of Londoners.”
Opposition
Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake also opposed the single waste authority, saying that the Mayor could already set the direction of waste management in London through his municipal waste strategy.
Mr Brake said: “We all need to put pressure on local authorities to deliver on his agenda, but the creation of a monolithic pan-London waste authority run by the Mayor is not the best way to maximise recycling in London. It is down to the local knowledge of local boroughs to deliver on the agenda.”
The Conservatives' Michael Grove, MP for Surrey Heath, also argued that the Mayor did not need a single waste authority in order to steer London's waste management.
| Related links: |
He said of the committee's rejection of the single waste authority: “We are not denying the Mayor an important voice in shaping how London deals with waste. Indeed, the Bill gives him the power to amplify his voice through his waste strategy. It talks about the need for London boroughs to co-operate effectively with the Mayor when discharging their responsibilities in order to conform to the strategy.
“As we discussed on the previous planning legislation, the Mayor has an enhanced role in dealing with waste plants. He has greater freedom to intervene,” Mr Gove pointed out.
Register for free to comment