These new local priorities mean that councils and their partners can concentrate their efforts on the specific needs of the local people they serve
Hazel Blears
The Department for Communities and Local Government has unveiled figures which show that 125 (83%) local areas have chosen to adopt at least one waste or recycling indicator in their Local Area Agreements.
The LLA replaces the old system of local authority targets and requires councils to pick 35 priority indicators from a list of 198 – for which three apply directly to waste (see letsrecycle.com story).
Of 150 areas in total, 68 (45%) have chosen the percentage of household waste sent for reuse, recycling and composting (NI192).
This was the third most popular environmental indicator, after per capita reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the local authority area (66%) and improved street and environmental cleanliness (48%) – which are also likely to encourage recycling.
Thirty eight (25%) of local areas meanwhile chose to adopt the indicator for residual household waste per household (NI 191) and 32 (21%) chose percentage of municipal waste landfilled (NI193).
West Berkshire
The council which has made waste and recycling the biggest priority is West Berkshire, which has chosen all three waste indicators.
Twelve local authorities have chosen two waste indicators. This includes Durham, North Yorkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Havering, Kingston upon Thames, Bristol, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Torbay, Manchester and Shropshire.
Local areas with no waste indicator in place are Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton, Barnsley, Calderdale, North East Lincolnshire, Rotherham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Cambridgeshire, Southend-on-Sea, Brighton & Hove, Milton Keynes, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Islington, Lambeth, Sutton, Bournemouth, Poole, Somerset, Salford, Trafford and Solihull.
Despite calls for the poorest performing councils to adopt a waste indicator, there appears to be no clear correlation between how many councils have chosen one and their recycling performance – with authorities at the bottom of the recycling league table such as Liverpool and Tower Hamlets only adopting one waste indicator (see letsrecycle.com story).
The waste indicators have so far been broadly welcomed by organisations such as LARAC, however, concerns have been raised over some of the effects they may have (see letsrecycle.com story).
Commenting on the announcement today, Hazel Blears MP, secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, said: “These new local priorities mean that councils and their partners can concentrate their efforts on the specific needs of the local people they serve. The prizes are enormous: better, more locally relevant public services, a higher quality of life and ultimately more prosperity in communities across the country.
“If knowledge is power, then this is more empowerment to local people. They will be able to see exactly what local government and service providers plan to do in their area, check out how well they are doing, and ask questions if they have not delivered. This means less red tape and more freedom for local authorities to deliver what local people want,” she added.
Full details of the main priorities for every local area in England can be found at the new Local Priorities website.
Progress will be tracked by independent auditors and results published, so any need for improvement can be identified quickly and local authorities and service providers can be held to account by local people.
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