Committee backs new powers over waste for Wales

The National Assembly could place a duty on local authorities to collect recyclable material from businesses

 
Jane Davidson, AM

But, the draft legislation, known as the Environmental Legislative Competence Order (LCO), still has to be approved by the National Assembly for Wales, House of Commons and House of Lords before it can be made into law.

The Welsh Affairs Select committee, which examines expenditure, administration and policy of the Welsh Office and relations with the Welsh Assembly, was scrutinising the  proposals for the Assembly to be able to create Welsh laws, called ‘Measures', for environmental matters including waste disposal and management, as well as pollution and nuisance.

The scrutiny document states: “We consider that a good case has been made that that National Assembly for Wales should have the ability to legislate with regard to the environment. This is an area in which Welsh Ministers already possess significant powers under existing legislation and support for the National Assembly to have legislative competence was clear in the evidence that we received.”

When the document was first sent to Parliament in April 2009 for pre-legislative scrutiny, it was suggested that the ‘Measures' could be used to introduce a tax on single use carrier bags and increase recycling in the country (see letsrecycle.com story).

Giving oral evidence to the committee, Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson, explained: “In the context of waste the National Assembly could place a duty on local authorities to collect recyclable material from businesses, certain materials could be banned or restricted from landfill sites, a charging scheme could be introduced for site waste management plans in relation to the construction and demolition sector, and construction projects could be required to use a percentage of recyclable material.”

History

The proposals to seek the new environmental powers were first laid by Ms Davidson before the Welsh Assembly in June 2007 (see letsrecycle.com story).

The Assembly then established a committee to scrutinise the draft LCO. The committee published recommendations to amend the Order in November 2007 and then a revised LCO was submitted to parliament and the Welsh Assembly Government for pre-legislative scrutiny by committees in April 2009.

Following yesterday's approval, a spokesman for the Welsh Assembly Government told letsrecycle.com that the proposal would now go forward for debate in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which are both currently in recess until October 12.

Once approved by both Houses, the document will then be sent for Royal Assent, which will give the Assembly the ability to make laws in the form of ‘Measures'. These will need to be passed by the National Assembly and require no further approval by either Whitehall or Parliament.

Concern

The committee, despite supporting the proposal, did voice concerns that the existing terminology and definitions used within the draft LCO could make understanding it “particularly difficult” and risked making existing legislation “impenetrable and unwieldy”. Although it did accept a degree of complexity was “inevitable”.

In its conclusion, the committee said: “We recommend that the Welsh Assembly Government explore ways in which it might be possible for an explanatory document to be produced with future draft Orders which, while clearly having no legal force and not being admissible as a aid to statutory interpretation, effectively communicates what the LCO does in a way that is understandable by all.”