§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the implication for the operation of local authority waste disposal companies of the recent Court of Appeal judgment on Avon county council's award of a waste disposal contract under the statutory tendering process.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe formation of local authority waste disposal companies to which waste disposal authorities transfer the relevant part of their undertakings is envisaged in part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Act also obliges waste disposal authorities to let waste disposal contracts through competitive tender to waste disposal contractors, which may include local authority waste disposal companies. Where a contractor believes that a waste disposal authority has not followed the competitive tendering provisions contained in the Act, the contractor may take action through the courts. The contractor has exercised that option in this instance. There is still the possibility of further legal process, and therefore it would not be appropriate for me to comment more fully on this specific case.