Supporters of a single authority have warned that waste authorities responsible for delivery in London have failed to bring forward and implement new plans for recycling facilities. Instead, they argue that London is heading for high levels of incineration at just under 40%, and a single authority would bring major advantages in waste planning and delivery.
– David Miliband
Opposition to a single authority – and at the same time support for more incineration of London's waste – is being backed by environment secretary David Miliband. Discussing the London authority issue, he has also argued that London should not be compared to other regions in the UK.
Gardens
Defending the capital's recycling rate of 21% – which is below government targets – the Secretary of State said: “One of the reasons London has a low recycling rate is because of its lack of gardens so there is little green waste.”
Insteady of a single authority, the government has offered a forum to bring the London waste authorities together. Commenting today, the Mayor said: “We don't need a voluntary forum, there are countless committees and networks to talk about waste in London.”
Disruptive
Backing the single authority are a number of London MPs, including Karen Buck and Andrew Dismore, who have proposed amendments to the Greater London Authority Bill to include a single London Waste Authority that would be guided by the Mayor. The government is expected to to oppose the amendments, arguing that restructuring “would be expensive and disruptive”.
The government view has been developed largely by environment secretary David Miliband. A number of London councils are also opposed, although the Mayor is understood to have accepted the case for full democratic input by the councils into a new single authority.
Mr Dismore has said that the government's proposals do not:
- Provide leadership on the delivery of waste infrastructure and more sustainable waste management
- Find new ways to tackle climate change and reduce transport movements
- Address London's poor performance on litter, recycling and regional self-sufficiency
And, Mr Dismore, who is MP for Hendon in North London, has told Mr Miliband that: “It is clear that a step change is needed in the management of London's waste and that urgent decisions need to be made in the interests of the capital. This will need strong leadership backed with powers to deliver on a politically difficult agenda.
– Andrew Dismore MP
Tensions
“Existing arrangements create tensions and work against this and are likely ultimately to lead to London failing to deliver the required waste infrastructure, resulting in fines and the continued unsustainable reliance on landfill in surrounding regions,” Mr Dismore said.
On the issue of extra costs incurred with creation of a single authority, the Mayor has challenged the basis of Defra's calculations.
Mr Livingstone noted that three reports have looked at transitional costs and efficiency savings. Two of these showed significant savings “could be made in the London waste market but this required a fundamental change in existing structures.”
The Mayor goes on to point out that the third study, commissioned by the Government Office for London and produced by KPMG “was undertaken in isolation from the Greater London Authority. We believe the third report is fundamentally flawed in its approach and that officials had already decided what the report would conclude before it was written.”
Doubt
Mr Miliband wrote to Mr Dismore over the costs issue, saying that the Mayor's costings “did not account for costs for redundancies, costs of altering contracts and the cost of setting up a transition team.” However, Mr Miliband appeared to be in a little doubt over the cost issue himself conceding that there would be efficiency savings although they “look likely to be insufficient to justify the initial set-up costs and disruption.”
Mr Miliband also told Mr Dismore that on energy from waste, “it is important that local strategies explore all options for better management of the waste through recycling before considering whether to use incineration.”
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He added: “Energy from waste offers a considerable climate change benefit compared to the alternative of landfill. We are clear that for sustainable waste management we need both more recycling and more energy from waste.”
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