Defra seeks views on forming Joint Waste Authorities

Joint working on waste is becoming increasingly important, to help authorities to invest in new, sustainable waste facilities more cost effectively

 
Joan Ruddock

And, it has revealed that a £500,000 fund is available in 2008/09 to help councils establish new waste authorities.

More than a year after Defra introduced legislation in Parliament to give councils the power to form joint waste authorities (see letsrecycle.com story), it is now seeking views on what councils must include in any proposal to form a joint waste authority.

The consultation runs until June 9, 2009, and will feed into the Joint Waste Authorities (Proposals) Regulations 2008 and accompanying guidance.

Local authorities will be required to take account of the regulations and guidance when drawing up their proposals to establish joint waste authorities.

These authorities will be new legal bodies that will be able to employ staff directly and enter into contracts with third parties. If waste contracts need to be transferred to an authority, the draft regulations propose a threshold value of £139,893 above which information on contract transfers would need to be included within the proposal.

England already has six joint waste disposal authorities – East London, Manchester, Merseyside, North London, West London and Western Riverside. However, other local authority partnerships are not statutory bodies. 

This means they do not have the power to establish contracts directly with private waste management companies, and have to undertake them through one of the member authorities. In one of the earliest examples of waste partnerships, Project Integra, contracts for Hampshire authorities, Southampton and Portsmouth are generally operated via Hampshire county council.

“Important”

Launching the consultation yesterday, minister Joan Ruddock said: “Joint working on waste is becoming increasingly important, to help authorities to invest in new, sustainable waste facilities more cost effectively. Authorities are already developing innovative ways of working with their neighbours to improve their waste services.

“Joint waste authorities can provide local authorities with an additional option for working together – one that will allow them to put their partnership on a statutory footing,” she explained.

Defra said today that it is making a £500,000 fund available to help interested local authorities develop proposals for joint waste authorities during 2008/09, while further funding could be available for the subsequent two years.

Details of how this funding will be distributed is to be published on Defra's website, but in the mean time interested authorities can email LAWFG@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Any council in England will be able to become part of a joint waste authority, but the consultation document states Defra's focus as being helping councils in two-tier areas.

Formal joint waste authorities would have operational functions – waste collection and/or disposal, and even street cleaning responsibilities if authorities wish. But, they cannot be used where councils just want to provide a strategic direction to their work, Defra said.

The 12-week consultation asks how joint waste authorities will work, what statutory responsibilities they should have, how decisions would be made, any additional measures under the PFI system and whether guidance is needed with relation to the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme or local area agreements.