The Audit Commission has published a report on MWDA, judging its service as fair or one-star. MWDA covers Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helen's, Sefton and the Wirral councils who have a population of 1.4 million. They are working together on a joint waste management strategy. Based on the strategy and a Best Value Review, the Commission reported that the MWDA has “uncertain prospects for improvement”.
The Authority, which has a 2003-04 budget of 36.6 million, requested an audit of its governance and performance management. The report said that although the Authority returned good levels of satisfaction and provided waste and recycling facilities, its “performance, in terms of waste minimisation and recycling, is significantly below that of other comparable authorities”.
The Commission praised the Authority for its “challenging short-term targets to improve recycling”.
The report also said that the 13 household waste recycling centres covered all the districts and provided facilities for residents to recycle. It added that the facilities and access within the recycling centres needs to be standardised between sites and that the Authority needs to develop a re-use strategy to cover the refurbishment of waste items.
The Best Value Review carried out by MWDA in 2002-03, resulted in an improvement plan containing 43 actions which was approved by the Authority in May 2003.
The Audit Commission report praised the Best Value Review for highlighting the joint waste management strategies' weaknesses and for informing the improvement plan. It added: “The Authority is clear on what it is seeking to achieve on recycling over the next five years.”
The Audit Commission gave positive support to the tonnage based levy recommended in the Best Value Review improvement plan in order to encourage waste minimisation and recycling. However, it warned the Authority that it needed a medium-term financial plan in order to support its strategic objectives.
The report also recommended that MWDA should gain support from local authority officers and political leaders because “stronger political direction is required to drive forward the waste management strategy for Merseyside.”
To read the full report on Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority, go to the Audit Commission website.
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