The NAO is an independent body that scrutinises public spending on behalf of parliament. The organisation is totally independent of government and headed by the controller and auditor general Sir John Bourn.
” We are eager to gather the opinions and insights of those involved in local authority waste management.“
– Jeremy Gostick, NAO
And the organisation is looking to answer the question “will the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs actions enable England to meet the EU landfill targets for reducing biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill?”
According to the NAO, the report will be split into two sub-sections that will investigate whether the current package of programmes will allow England to meet its targets and whether Defra and the Waste Resources Action Programme are taking adequate steps to encourage retailers and householders to play their part in minimising waste and recycling.
As part of the study the NAO will be using a number of different sources of evidence. As well as liaising with government and making use of existing data – the annual municipal waste management survey, the Wastedataflow database and data gathered by Defra's Waste Implementation Programme – the NAO will also be seeking stakeholder views.
Insight
Jeremy Gostick of the NAO said: “We are eager to gather the opinions and insights of those involved in local authority waste management, and others such as the waste industry PFI bidders. We will consult with professional bodies in doing this.
“We also intend to gather views from local authorities using focus groups. We aim to draw attention to good practice from high performing local authorities,” he added.
Mr Gostick also said that the organisation would be seeking advice and information from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – as well as looking to other countries for examples of good practice.
| Related links: |
Evidence collected will take place during the summer of 2005 and the results will be discussed with Defra and WRAP. The NAO has said that it hopes to publish results in early 2006.
Mr Gostick can be contacted by emailing jeremy.gostick@nao.gsi.gov.uk.
Register for free to comment