The powers form an amendment to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, which is having its second reading in Parliament today.
The government is keen for councils to group together to run waste and recycling services on a more efficient footing, benefiting from economies of scale in service provision as well as strengthening the procurement of new long-term waste contracts.
– Ben Bradshaw
The powers will be entirely voluntary, for the councils to apply for rather than the government to impose. The joint arrangements could apply to waste disposal, collection or street cleansing functions.
The new powers came following recommendations made to the government by an “Innovation Forum” of local authorities including Cornwall, Shropshire and West Sussex county councils.
“Important”
Welcoming the announcement by Secretary of State Ruth Kelly in Parliament today, local environment quality minister Ben Bradshaw said: “Joint working on waste is becoming ever more important, to help authorities to invest in new, more sustainable waste facilities at affordable cost.
“It is particularly important in shire areas to ensure waste collection and disposal activities are joined up. Authorities are already developing innovative ways of working with their neighbours to improve their waste services, and this amendment will increase the range of partnership working options available to them.”
Although six joint waste disposal authorities are already active in London, Merseyside and Manchester, the changes will mean other local authority partnerships will have the opportunity to set up more permanent arrangements. As well as English shires it could be particularly applicable to small unitary councils that can benefit from joining with neighbouring councils.
It will not affect planning powers – as changes in London government are doing – but could see pooled targets made statutory.
Confidence
Officials in Whitehall believe the changes will give more confidence to the private sector in dealing with council waste partnerships within long-term contracts. Dealing with a Joint Waste Authority, rather than just a voluntary partnership, will give waste companies the confidence that individual councils will not pull out of the partnership.
It will also see Joint Waste Authorities avoiding the often complex decision structures of purely voluntary arrangements, with the government suggesting the moves could make savings of up to 150 million.
The changes come within a wider local government shake-up within the Bill and the accompanying “Making It Happen: The Implementation Plan” document, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government today. This wider plan includes the possibility of allowing counties to apply for unitary status, a new code of conduct for councillors as well as certain changes to leadership within individual councils.
The move by central government to encourage Joint Waste Authorities in England could be seen as slightly discordant with its decision to refuse a single waste authority for London (see letsrecycle.com story). But Ken Livingstone's attempt to establish a single London authority is seen by government as imposing a structure on the London boroughs, whereas its Joint Waste Authority measure is designed to be voluntary on the part of local authorities, for them to come forward and apply.
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In terms of disrupting progress already being made towards European waste targets in the next few years – another argument used by the government against the London authority – officials see the Joint Waste Authorities as being used by councils to improve the implementation of plans already in place or being developed.
Defra's Waste Implementation Programme has been working with Somerset county council to research the benefits of a move to set up a statutory Joint Waste Authority for certain kinds of local authority. It is understood this work is now close to fruition to give extra information to those groups of authorities considering the formal joining of their waste services.
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