LITTER AND REFUSE: CODE OF PRACTICE (Hansard, 13 November 1990)

§ Baroness Blatch

My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has today laid before Parliament the statutory code of practice on litter and refuse envisaged in Section 89(7) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. A copy is being sent to all local authorities and other interested bodies.

Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act underpins the Government's drive to tackle the serious problem of litter, which scars our towns and our countryside. The Act places a duty on local authorities and certain other bodies throughout Great Britain to keep land clear of litter and refuse. We intend that the duty will apply to local authorities and the Crown from 1st April 1991; there will be certain transitional provisions in relation to authorities which have already let street cleaning contracts under the Local Government Act 1988. We will shortly be making an announcement about the other bodies to which we propose that the duty should apply.

The Act also increases the maximum fine for littering from £400 to £1,000, and gives powers to local authorities to introduce fixed penalty schemes, to designate litter control areas and to issue street litter control notices.

The code of practice is another important part of our war against litter. It is designed to give practical guidance to local authorities and other bodies which will be covered by the litter duty. It was drawn up with the help of an advisory group containing experts from local authorities and other organisations.

The code breaks new ground in its approach to litter clearance. For the first time, it sets out standards of cleanliness which should be achievable in different types of location under different circumstances. This

Ministers' and other paid office holders salaries
	Current official salary	Proposed January 1991 official salary	Percentage increase	Current total salary (including reduced parliamentary salary of £20,101)	Total January 1991 salary (including reduced parliamentary salary of £21,809)	Total percentage increase
	£	£	Per cent.	£	£	Per cent.
Prime Minister¹	46,750	50,724	8.5	66,851	72,533	8.5
Cabinet Ministers (C)	35,120	38,105	8.5	55,221	59,914	8.5
Cabinet Ministers (L)	44,591	48,381	8.5	—	—	—
Ministers of State (C)	24,850	26,962	8.5	44,951	48,771	8.5
Ministers of State (L)	39,641	43,010	8.5	—	—	—
Parliamentary Secretaries (C)	18,860	20,463	8.5	38,961	42,272	8.5
Parliamentary Secretaries (L)	33,241	36,066	8.5	—	—	—
Attorney General	37,320	40,492	8.5	57,421	62,301	8.5
Solicitor General	30,600	33,201	8.5	50,701	55,010	8.5
Lord Advocate	44,661	48,457	8.5	—	—	—
Solicitor General for Scotland	39,109	42,433	8.5	—	—	—
House of Commons
Mr. Speaker¹	36,850	39,982	8.5	56,951	61,791	8.5
Leader of the Opposition	32,200	34,937	8.5	52,301	56,746	8.5
Chief Whip	29,230	31,715	8.5	49,331	53,524	8.5
Deputy Chief Whip	24,850	26,962	8.5	44,951	48,771	8.5
Opposition Chief Whip	24,850	26,962	8.5	44,951	48,771	8.5
Government Whips and Assistant Government Whips	15,990	17,349	8.5	36,091	39,158	8.5
Assistant Opposition Whip	15,990	17,349	8.5	36,091	39,158	8.5
Chairman of Ways and Means	24,850	26,962	8.5	44,951	48,771	8.5

8WA

should help to establish common standards of cleanliness throughout Britain, and will make it possible for an organisation under the litter duty to assess its performance.

The code also concentrates on how clean land is rather than how often it is cleaned. This should change the approach taken by many authorities up till now. The emphasis will no longer be on sweeping frequencies but on targeting litter blackspots while reducing sweeping frequencies in areas which all but escape litter. The motto is, "If it isn't dirty, don't clean it".

I know that the Government's determination to deal with litter is shared by members of the public and by local authorities up and down the country. The code which we have published today should help to translate that determination into results.