Good councils free to spend recycling cash as they wish

The decision by the government to free-up some of the money could have major implications for suppliers of equipment and for the delivery of new schemes. The change in the rules applies to councils who are performing well across all their services and comes in the wake of recent controversy over the amount allocated by government to education spending.

Recycling fund sums involved could be higher than 8.5 million freed up by government as the money was expected to lever in additional funds from council budgets, other grant sources and private sector investment.

Mr Meacher is one of a group of ministers who has signed the rule change which comes in Special Grant Report measures which will be laid before the House of Commons today. They detail how grants including the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund will no longer ring-fenced for councils judged to be “excellent” under the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Spending Assessment review.

The report states: “Those (councils) classed as ‘excellent’ (by the CPA) are to receive a package of freedoms from central Government controls greater than those freedoms available for other councils. The package includes a provision that Government grants to the excellent authorities will no longer be ring-fenced, except for those grants which must be passed to schools.

“Councils which benefit in 2003/4 from grants which are, for the majority of authorities, ring-fenced, therefore need to be paid these grants in an unring-fenced form.”

Over 8.5 million from the second round of the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund is affected, with 2.3 million of that from the London Recycling Fund.

The following English councils are included in the new Blackburn with Darwen, Derbyshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Hartlepool, Kent and Sunderland. In London boroughs covered are: Bexley, Corporation of London, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Kingston Upon Thames, Wandsworth and Westminster.

Although only 14 councils are affected, the measures include some sizable individual sums such as the 2.4 million for Hampshire and 2 million for Dorset.