§ 2.55 p.m.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the statement of the Wandsworth 7 Borough chief auditor that shopkeepers have paid privatised dustmen to have rubbish taken away is consistent with Lord Bellwin's statement that none of the complaints of this practice has been substantiated.
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Bellwin)My Lords, in the series of Questions which the noble Lord, Lord Jenkins, has put on this topic he has blurred the issue by confusing allegations of demands for payment being made, and traders choosing to make unofficial payments for the removal of refuse. As I have consistently stated, the chief auditor's investigations into the press allegations of bribery found no evidence of demands for payment of money being made. What the chief auditor did find was that some traders had chosen to make unofficial arrangements for the clearance of trade refuse which should have been dealt with under official arrangements with the council.
§ Lord Jenkins of PutneyMy Lords, since the noble Lord suggests that the issue is blurred, would it not be clarified if the Wandsworth Borough Council was to ask its chief auditor to publish a report on the investigations to which the noble Lord has just referred?
§ Lord BellwinMy Lords, surely that is up to the local authority itself to decide. The noble Lord so often reminds us that authorities should act under their own powers and practise autonomy. I am sure that this is a case where the council will take note of his Question.