§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to publish advice on the new arrangements for waste disposal operations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, including the introduction of competition and the establishment of local authority waste disposal companies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. TrippierMy Department and the Welsh Office today issued a draft circular to local authorities for consultation. It gives guidance on the new arrangements for waste disposal operations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, including the introduction of competitive tendering, and advice on the creation of local authority waste disposal companies (LAWDCs).
From May this year, local authorities will have to arrange for waste disposal contracts to be awarded only after competitive tendering. In choosing which tenders to accept they will, of course, have to consider value for money, but will also be able to seek environmental improvements in the form of reduced pollution and increased recycling. They must not discriminate unduly between different types of waste disposal contractor.
285WMoreover, under the Act local authorities will no longer be able to carry out waste disposal operations themselves. They can contract the work out to the private sector, set up joint venture companies or establish a LAWDC. If they do not make satisfactory arrangements for waste disposal themselves, the Secretary of State will direct them to form a LAWDC.
The draft circular includes guidance on setting up a LAWDC and advice on drawing up a scheme to transfer the authority's waste disposal undertaking to the new company. Each transfer scheme must be approved by the Secretary of State.
Setting up the new arrangements for waste disposal will be a major cooperative exercise between central and local government. Individual timetables will be set for each authority reflecting its particular circumstances and the Secretary of State's wish to implement this policy as soon as possible.
These changes with other provisions of the Act, will separate local authority waste disposal options from regulation, providing the basis for higher standards and fair competition. They will, encourage the provision of improved services for the collection, keeping, treatment and disposal of waste. Competition for local authority waste disposal contracts will increase efficiency and identify the full cost of waste disposal, allowing rational choices to be made on achieving the environmental improvements which we all desire.