Appendix 1
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIT
COMMITTEE ON WASTE
INTRODUCTION
1. The Government is acutely aware of the challenges
we face in relation to waste growth and waste management in this
country. The Government welcomes the fact that this issue has
attracted the interest of both the Environmental Audit Committee
(EAC), and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee,
which indicates its increasing importance in the political arena.
2. The EAC report on waste comes at a time when there
is already a great deal of change in this area of policy, both
in terms of the resource structure dedicated to this issue, and
of the funding and measures being implemented to help meet challenging
targets on waste.
3. In general terms, the Government accepts the premise
of the report that there has not been enough progress on waste
in the last few years, but does not accept that little or no attempt
has been made by Government to solve this problem.
4. Since publication of the EAC report the Government
has published its response to the Strategy Unit report[1]
on waste. This set out the actions the Government is taking following
that report.
5. The following response comments on each of the
conclusions of the report, and sets out thoughts and plans on
the recommendations that have been made by the EAC.
6. What follows echoes the Government's response
to the Strategy Unit report. The latter supplements, but does
not amend, the underlying principles and targets in the Waste
Strategy, which continues to form the framework for our waste
policy.
7. We will tackle the problem of waste in this country,
with the help of your committee, local government, non-government
organisations, business and individuals. It is a towering challenge,
but it is one we must face together.
1. The UK's waste mountain, already large, is
growing. Since 1996-97, the average annual rise in the amount
of municipal waste arisings has been 3.4 per cent. The increase
between 1999-00 and 2000-01 was 2.7 per cent, outstripping year
on year growth in GDP (para 2).
8. Provisional results for 2001-02 from the Municipal
Waste Management Survey were published on 22 May. These show some
slowing in the rate of growth, although municipal waste has still
grown faster than GDP. The increase between 2000-01 and 2001-02
was 2.4 per cent. Since 1996-97, the average annual rise in the
amount of municipal waste arisings has been 3.2 per cent. Household
waste which on average makes up 89 per cent of municipal waste
has grown more slowly, and at a similar rate to the growth in
GDP, data from 2000-01 and 2001-02 shows household waste growth
to be lower than GDP in these years.
9. The growth in industrial and commercial waste
is levelling off, and provisional estimates suggest that the country
is on course to meet the target of reducing the amount of commercial
and industrial waste going to landfill to 85% of 1998 levels by
2005-06. The next Commercial and Industrial Waste Survey is being
conducted this year by the Environment Agency, and will give us
a clearer picture of progress in these waste streams.
2. No target has been set for waste minimisation.
The resources available under the National Waste Minimisation
and Recycling Fund have been largely directed at recycling projects
rather than waste minimisation efforts. Few other levers to stimulate
waste minimisation exist to compensate for this. We agree with
the OECD's assessment that UK measures to encourage waste minimisation
are very weak (para 28).
10. The Government accepts that the best way to deal
with waste is not to produce it in the first place. This is reflected
in the waste hierarchy, which underpins the Waste Strategy. Policies
so far have focussed in the main on promoting re-use and recycling,
although the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund has
assisted some local authorities in waste minimisation activities.
The most recent figures from the Municipal Waste Management Survey
show that household waste growth has slowed, for the first time,
down from 2.6% to 2.4%.
11. Government agrees that this is not enough and
major steps are now being taken to address the issue of waste
reduction. As part of the Government's response to the Strategy
Unit report, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has
been funded to take forward a package of measures to promote household
waste minimisation. The package includes measures to help people
reduce waste at home. Features include a big increase in home
composting (providing 250,000 extra homes with a compost bin this
year), reducing nappy waste by helping business start-ups in nappy
washing services, working with the big retailers to reduce supermarket
waste and a waste minimisation innovation research fund to help
with this.
12. Government is also keen to investigate other
methods of encouraging waste minimisation, and also to measure
it. Producer responsibility is one important way in which waste
can be dealt with on a 'polluter pays' basis, and officials are
looking at ways that this principle could be adopted to promote
waste minimisation. The Packaging Regulations, for example, require
business to recover and recycle a growing percentage of packaging
waste. This is an incentive to reduce packaging and therefore
reduce the recovery and recycling burden.
13. On measurement, data are already collected from
local authorities under the Best Value Performance Indicators
regime. Some of these data could be used to measure waste minimisation.
This is being considered as part of the review of Best Value Performance
Indicators, which may lead to the introduction of a performance
measure in 2004-05.
3. However the Waste Management Performance Fund
is to be allocated and operated, we urge the Government to ensure
that it becomes an effective instrument to stimulate waste minimisation
(para 29).
14. The Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund has
awarded funds to 295 projects over the two rounds of bidding.
Successful projects cover waste minimisation, re-use, kerbside
recycling collections, bring recycling, infrastructure development
and composting. It is anticipated that an additional 1.25 million
tonnes of waste will be collected for recycling as a result of
this investment. Government will continue to monitor the Fund's
impact, and will seek to ensure that the successor arrangements
are no less effective in driving up performance.
15. The Government announced in the Budget that it
would replace the Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund with a
Performance Reward Fund. Final decisions on the start date of
the Performance Reward Fund, and its operational details, will
be announced following further consultation with local government
stakeholders. The new Fund will need to take account of related
activities, e.g. by WRAP, to ensure that they complement each
other.
4. The proportion of municipal waste sent to
landfill is declining but the overall amount sent to landfill
is still increasing—from 21.9 million tonnes in 1999-00
to 22.1 million tonnes in 2000-01—and therefore we are moving
further away from the requirements of the Landfill Directive (para
33).
16. The overall picture is confirmed by the latest
Municipal Waste Management Survey figures. The proportion
of municipal waste sent to landfill continues to decline (to
77 per cent in 2001-02) but the overall amount sent to landfill
is still increasing, although only by a small amount, from 21.1
million tonnes in 2000-01 to 22.3 million tonnes in 2001-02.
5. The targets set for recycling and recovery
are unambitious by European standards. Even so they pose a significant
challenge for local authorities by demanding rapid improvement
on traditionally low recycling rates (para 36).
17. It is not true to suggest that the targets that
have been set for recycling and recovery are unambitious. Although
they could be considered low by European standards they demand
a step-change in waste management in this country over a short
period, and if met, will constitute a solid foundation for further
progress in the future. European experience indicates that high
targets take a considerable time to achieve.
18. Differentiated targets have been set for all
local authorities to ensure that they all improve their performance
on recycling substantially. Targets for 2005-06 range from the
lowest at 18% of household waste recycled, up to 40% for some
authorities, which are comparable with some of the higher rates
in Europe. Furthermore, the Government is committed to considering
setting further targets for local authorities beyond those for
2005-06. It is essential that targets are sufficiently challenging
to promote change in waste management, whilst being realistic
and achievable.
19. It is not always possible to directly compare
statistics with European rates, as definitions differ. For instance,
the English local authority recycling targets are tightly defined
to exclude rubble and incinerator bottom ash which are commonly
included in recycling rates quoted for some European countries.
6. Projections based on the current rates of
performance improvement indicate that we will not come close to
meeting any of the national targets set for recycling or recovery.
Under the current set of policies, the targets set for 2015 and
2020 in particular will be missed by a wide margin (para 37).
20. Both
the Strategy Unit's and our own modelling also concluded that
the shorter-term recycling and recovery targets would not be met
if the then levels of performance continued. This is why, in responding
to the Strategy Unit report, the Government is introducing a
package of new measures to drive up performance.
· Landfill
Tax will be increased by £3 per tonne
in 2005-06 and by at least £3 per tonne in the years thereafter,
on the way to a medium to long-term rate of £35 per tonne.
· The
Landfill Tax Credit Scheme has been reformed and a proportion
of the funding—£84/92/92m—will be re-directed
to a new Sustainable Waste Management Programme in England in
2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06;
· A new
Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) run by Defra will
implement the package of strategic measures recommended by the
Strategy Unit. WIP comprises seven workstreams, led by Defra and
WRAP, which combine to move waste management up the waste hierarchy.
· New
workstreams to be taken forward by Defra as part of WIP include:
o Local
Authority Support - to bridge the gap
between Central Government and Local Authorities (LAs), and assist
LAs to meet their targets.
o Local
Authority Funding - bringing together
all additional funding from Central Government to LAs for improved
performance on waste.
o Data
and Research - to provide a sound evidence
base for better informed policy development, implementation, monitoring
and evaluation, at both national and local levels.
o New
Technologies - to tackle barriers within
the UK market to the successful development and take-up of new
waste management and technologies.
· The
role of WRAP will be expanded to take forward three specific workstreams
under WIP, including:
o Waste
Minimisation - including a home composting
scheme, a reusable nappies scheme, a retailer initiative, and
an innovation fund.
o Recycling
- through the establishment of a new kerbside recycling taskforce
(the Recycling and Organics Technical Advisory Team - ROTATE)
o Education
and Awareness - at both a national and
local level, in order to raise public awareness and support other
workstreams.
· A new
Delivery Team and Steering Group is being established
in Defra to drive forward implementation of the Government's response
to the Strategy Unit report and new programmes of work in Defra
and WRAP. Government estimates that new WIP measures alone will
contribute substantially to diverting biodegradable municipal
waste from landfill, as well as to recycling and composting rates.
· Local
authority funding of £90m each year
for 2004-05 and 2005-06 has been provided for the Waste Minimisation
and Recycling Fund or its successor Performance Reward Fund.
· The
Waste and Emissions Trading Bill will introduce a system
of tradable landfill allowances that will reduce year on
year to encourage local authorities to reduce the amount of biodegradable
waste sent to landfill. It also includes provisions to allow waste
disposal authorities to direct waste collection authorities to
collect separated waste. It will soon include measures
to promote more strategic waste planning at a local level in
two tier authorities.
· A review
of the health and environmental effects of waste management and
disposal options has been commissioned. This work is well
underway.
· There
will be a review of the planning guidelines for waste management,
Planning Policy Guidance 10. The Government recognises that
there will be an increasing need for waste management facilities
to deal with our waste, in particular, for recycling. The review
will aim to improve the guidance and help local authorities to
make timely and appropriate decisions,
7. Inadequate funding and a lack of clear Government
guidance have made it harder for local authorities to reach the
targets they have been set. We are extremely concerned that the
measures taken to date do not reflect the urgency of the need
for improvement (para 48).
21. Government is committed to ensuring local authorities
and the waste managers are equipped with the information, guidance
and advice they need on all issues relating to delivery of waste
services. Defra is currently setting up a wide-ranging programme
of support for local authorities which will significantly increase
the scale and breadth of support available to them, and will do
so according to challenging timescales over the coming months.
This will be a key activity from the new Taskforce, recommended
by the Strategy Unit and being set up by Defra.
22. Moreover, funding for waste management has increased
substantially in recent years. The Spending Reviews in 2000 and
2002 secured an extra £1.7billion for the Environmental Protective
and Culture Services spending block from which waste management
is funded, and the funding available for waste PFIs has also increased
substantially. £200 million of PFI credits were provided
for in SR 2000 for waste projects, increasing by 60% to £355
million in SR 2002. £140 million has also been allocated
to local authorities through the National Waste Minimisation and
Recycling Fund. Funds of at least £90 million per year will
be made available to local authorities in 2004-05 - 2005-06, for
the Fund or its successor Performance Reward Fund.
8. There is some evidence of good progress diverting
waste from landfill on the part of industry and commerce but in
the absence of up to date statistics it is not possible to be
certain (para 53).
23. This conclusion is based on evidence supplied
by Defra. Data on industrial and commercial waste are not up to
date but the next Industrial and Commercial Waste Survey is being
carried out this year. The information produced will be similar
in nature to the last set of data.
24. In addition, in relation to hazardous waste,
the Government intends to consult on a system of waste producer
registration. Along with streamlined procedures for the submission
of consignment note data to the Environment Agency. These measures
should improve data collection in relation to hazardous waste
arisings, recovery and disposal.
25. To help improve waste data collection and management
more generally, a new data team within the Waste Implementation
Programme will deal exclusively with designing and delivering
a three year data strategy, in conjunction with the Environment
Agency, and under the guidance of an Information Advisory Group.
9. As with municipal waste, there are significant
barriers hindering greater diversion from landfill on the part
of industry and commerce. Rather than developing a specific strategy
covering industrial and commercial waste, we recommend that the
Government concentrates its efforts on removing those barriers
by clarifying the definition and interpretation of waste to be
used by Government agencies, ensuring consistent and where appropriate
consultative decision-making, and providing cohesion across all
aspects of policy (para 59).
26. "Waste" is defined in Article 1(a)
of the Waste Framework Directive. All Member States are required
to transpose and implement this definition; and it has been in
force in the UK since May 1994. It is not within the Government's
discretion to exclude any particular material from the definition
of waste. Any such action would place the UK in contravention
of the Directive.
27. The interpretation of the definition of waste
has been the subject of several judgments by the European Court
of Justice (ECJ). These judgments are binding on Member States
and their competent authorities (e.g. the Environment Agency).
The most recent of these judgments was issued on 19 June 2003
in a case involving Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd, which was referred
to the ECJ by the High Court (Case C-444/00). In the light of
this, and other ECJ judgments, the Government proposes to revise
its existing guidance on the definition of waste - with the aim
of ensuring the adoption of a correct, consistent and proportionate
approach to the interpretation of those judgments.
28. The European Commission has also recently published
a Communication entitled "Towards a thematic strategy
on the prevention and recycling of waste" with an
invitation to stakeholders to comment by 30 November 2003. The
definition of waste is one of the issues addressed in the Communication
and the Commission has confirmed its readiness to hold a debate
on the issue. The Government intends to respond to the Commission's
Communication and, in so doing, to contribute to the debate on
the definition of waste.
10. We repeat our earlier recommendation that
the Government increases the rate of the Landfill Tax more steeply
than is currently proposed (para 61).
29. The Government has stated that the standard rate
of Landfill Tax will reach a level of £35 per tonne in the
medium to long term, rising by at least £3 per year from
2005-06. The Government's own analysis and the recommendations
of other reports suggest that a standard rate of tax at this level
will result in alternatives to landfill being made available and
being an economically viable option. The Government will keep
under review the rate of increase in landfill tax and the target
£35 per tonne tax rate, taking account of the impact of all
measures being introduced.
30. Waste producers and the waste management industry
need sufficient warning of the tax rises to be able to invest
in alternatives to landfill. The most important factor in stimulating
a shift in behaviour away from landfill is not the current rate
of tax, but the confidence and knowledge that the rate of tax
will reach a level of around £35 per tonne.
31. The increase in the Landfill Tax is only one
of the Government's package of measures to tackle the waste problem.
Increasing the Landfill Tax ahead of the rest of the package would
run the risk of imposing unnecessary costs on the economy.
11. The Treasury's behaviour over the Landfill
Tax, and the absence of any further environmental measures in
the Budget, reinforces our view, expressed in our report on the
Pre-Budget Report 2002, that it remains timid in its use of fiscal
instruments to tackle environmental issues (para 62).
32. The Government remains committed to using taxes
as one of the policy mechanisms for improving the environment,
where they can help in tackling market failures. This commitment
was set out in the 1997 Statement of Intent on environmental taxation,
and was reiterated in Tax and the environment: using economic
instruments, which was published with the 2002 Pre-Budget
Report.
33. Tax and the environment: using economic instruments
sets out the principles which the Government believes should underpin
the use of environmental taxes, and the approach which the Government
takes in introducing measures. This approach involves early signalling
of objectives, careful analysis of the costs and benefits of intervention,
and extensive consultation on possible measures before their introduction.
34. The Budget describes a number of further measures,
which the Government has taken, including the reform of the Landfill
Tax Credit Scheme and the review of the environmental and health
effects of waste management and disposal, which is now under way.
12. The Government has commissioned a review
of the "environmental and health effects of all waste management
and disposal options. It aims to report on findings of this review
later in the year. The case for using economic instruments for
incineration will be considered in the light of this work".
We recommend a moratorium on permissions for all large-scale municipal
incinerators until this work is complete (para 63).
35. Reviews by such bodies as the independent expert
Committee on the Carcinogenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer
Products and the environment (in 2000), the Medical Research Council
Institute for Environment and Health (in 1997), and the United
States National Research Council (in 1999) all agreed that there
was no convincing evidence of an excess of disease in studies
of populations living near municipal waste incinerators. Most
of these studies concerned incinerators which were not required
to comply with the more stringent emission standards now in place.
These standards should ensure that any risk to the environment
and human health is lower than previously.
36. Nevertheless, the Government is very aware of
continuing public concerns over the safety of mass burn incineration.
There are also, however, grounds for concern about the other options
for waste management. For example, several studies have found
an association between living near to landfill sites and the risk
of adverse birth outcomes. This does not necessarily mean that
landfill sites cause these effects—more research is in progress
to try to clarify this. Another example is the possible increased
risk of effects on the lungs from microbiological particles released
to the air from composting sites.
37. The scientific information on the health effects
of waste management options is patchy. It is because the Government
recognises that all waste management and disposal options may
increase risks to the environment and human health that it has
commissioned a wide-ranging review. The review is intended to
examine the information and, as far as possible, to compare the
risks from the various options. At this stage, there is no reason
to assume that it will find against any one option and for any
other. There is no justification for a moratorium on large-scale
municipal incinerators or any other form of properly controlled
waste management or disposal.
13. We remain concerned that the Government saw
the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme as a means of financing its own
policies for which it would otherwise have had to find additional
funding (para 66).
38. The reform of the LTCS from 1 April 2003 was
announced in the Pre Budget Statement in November 2002. The aim
of the reform was to provide funding (£100 million in 2003/04)
for a more strategic approach to sustainable waste management
(SWM), through a new public expenditure scheme. While accepting
that the LTCS had achieved a considerable amount by funding local
environmental and community projects, it was the Government's
considered view that if the UK was to be best placed to achieve
EU obligations to make substantial reductions in landfill from
2010 onwards, this more strategic approach was necessary. The
reforms introduced by the Government also respond to previous
criticisms of the scheme by the Public Accounts Committee, the
Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Select Committee,
and the National Audit Office.
39. The Government has provided transitional funding
for the year 2003-04 for waste management and recycling projects
currently supported through the LTCS. The responsibility for this
funding arrangement, known as the Legacy Fund, lies with Defra
and it is being administered by ENTRUST. The fund is now closed
for applications.
40. The level of expenditure of £47 million
(increasing in line with inflation), on local environmental and
community projects, is comparable with that of the pre-1 April
scheme. As a result, those types of projects currently carried
out through the scheme should be largely unaffected. Regulations
will be introduced to extend the scope of the scheme to include
habitat creation projects on land that need not have public access,
in order to support biodiversity. The Government will also continue
to work with ENTRUST and other stakeholders to improve the scheme's
operation. Local environmental and community projects may also
be able to attract a significant level of funding under the National
Lottery's New Opportunities and Heritage Funds.
14. We recommend that the Government considers
extending the duration of WRAP's funding now to secure its medium
term future (para 68).
41. The Government shares the Committee's perspective
that there are encouraging signs that WRAP is having a positive
impact in improving the prospects for recycling. We are currently
discussing with WRAP what a future business plan after 2004 might
address and what funding the government needs to provide to deliver
this. The Government has nevertheless made clear, through its
response to the SU report, that it considers WRAP will have a
substantial role to play after its initial three-year period.
15. The Waste Strategy 2000 is not so much a
waste strategy but a strategy for complying with some of the requirements
developed in the European Union. Even with that interpretation,
it has still not proved effective in delivery (para 70).
42. Waste Strategy 2000 continues to be the backbone
of the Government's policy on waste management in this country.
It looks ahead 20 years, and offers a strategic overview of waste
policy, outlining the scale of the task faced, and the tools that
could be brought to bear on that challenge. Subsequent enhancements
and new measures have provided the economic and regulatory 'meat
on the bones' that will help to ensure that not only are targets
met, but that they are exceeded. It is anticipated that targets
set at both a local and national level are minima, and that there
is the will and the capacity to go beyond them.
43. A key example of one of these policies is the
Waste and Emissions Trading Bill. This will introduce a system
of tradable landfill allowances that will reduce year on year
to encourage local authorities to reduce the amount of biodegradable
waste sent to landfill. This scheme is unique in Europe, and is
evidence of the Government's commitment to changing the face of
waste management, and ultimately surpassing the requirements of
European Directives.
16. Implicit in the Government's decisions to
call a Waste Summit, held in November 2001, and then to initiate
a year long review of Waste by the Strategy Unit, is a recognition
of the problems inherent with the existing Waste Strategy and
the unsatisfactory level of progress made to date. While we welcome
the attention that these events have brought the waste issue,
the bald fact is that no major new initiatives or mechanisms to
drive progress or solutions to the problems identified have yet
resulted (para 71).
44. Since the EAC report on waste was published,
the Government has published its response to the Strategy Unit
report on waste. The Government accepted the majority of the Strategy
Unit's recommendations, and supports the direction or intent of
many of the others.
45. The response included details of the Waste Implementation
Programme, a major new programme of strategic measures that aims
to deliver real progress on municipal waste. The Waste and Resources
Action Programme (WRAP) has also secured additional funding to
enable it to develop measures that will address the issue of waste
minimisation.
46. As set out earlier under recommendation 6, the
Waste Implementation Programme (WIP) will concentrate on improving
waste minimisation, recycling and composting, and researching
new technologies for dealing with those wastes that are not readily
reduced, reused or recycled. A Local Authority Delivery Taskforce
will assist local authorities to meet their recycling and composting
targets.
47. The new Delivery Team and Steering Group will
drive forward implementation of the Government's response and
new programmes of work in Defra and WRAP. A programme budget of
at least £30m has been allocated to these new programmes.
48. As announced in the response, some recommendations
require further consideration, a key example being the introduction
of household incentive schemes to encourage households to reduce
waste and increase re-use and recycling. The Government considers
that further work is needed before any decision is taken on whether
to extend the powers of local authorities and introduce pilot
schemes. This will be carried out in cooperation with the Local
Government Association and other stakeholders.
49. The Government has made a commitment to substantially
increase the landfill tax to a medium to long-term level of £35
per tonne. This will drive innovation and change in a number of
industries.
50. The Waste and Emissions Trading Bill, which has
completed Committee stage in the House of Commons, will put in
place the legal framework to enable the UK to meet the Landfill
Directive targets of reducing the amount of biodegradable municipal
waste which is sent to landfill. In England it is intended to
set up system of tradable landfill allowances for waste disposal
authorities. This is the most cost effective way for the England
to meet its targets. Other countries in the UK are considering
similar systems and together these will reduce the amount of BMW
the UK sends to landfill to 75% of 1995 levels by 2010, 50% by
2013 and 35% by 2020.
17. The difficulties associated with the UK's
waste problem are compounded by the fact that the Government's
record in dealing with EU legislation on waste is poor. Further
EU measures are due to come into effect in the next five or so
years. The Government will need to anticipate and plan for the
consequences of these measures more effectively than it has done
in the past both to avoid further chaos and to ensure that UK
business is able to exploit the business opportunities presented
(para 77).
51. The Government sees "producer responsibility"
as an important way forward in dealing with waste on the basis
of the "polluter pays principle". The Strategy Unit
report also took the view that producer responsibility schemes
are beneficial in taking a life-cycle approach to waste management
by making the producer meet at least some of the costs of disposing
of their products after use.
52. The UK has participated fully in negotiations
in the European Community on a range of measures based on the
principles of producer responsibility and has fully supported
the Packaging and Packaging Waste, the End of Life Vehicles and
Waste Electrical and electronic Equipment Directives.
53. When implementing Directives in the UK, the Government
seeks to achieve the environmental benefits in the Directives
through the most cost-effective producer responsibility approach,
trying to ensure that the burden on business is the minimum consistent
with achieving the environmental objectives. In each case, industry
has the opportunity to contribute to the development of the particular
producer responsibility system to be adopted, and consultation
with the relevant industry and other interested parties is always
undertaken. On packaging, an industry Advisory Committee on Packaging
was set up providing a forum for Ministers to communicate with
the industry.
54. The UK did have some difficulties with the introduction
of the Ozone Depleting Substances Regulations (2037/00), although
we have always been in compliance. When the Regulations came into
force for domestic fridges in January 2002, the UK had limited
capacity for specialist reprocessing. Consequently many refrigerators
had to be stored pending installation of new plant or were exported
for treatment. Since that time, UK based capacity for treatment
of waste refrigerators has come on stream and there is now sufficient
capacity to deal with UK arisings.
55. Further capacity will need to be developed in
light of the requirements set out in the Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive for the recycling and recovery
of electrical and electronic equipment. Discussion is underway
with the waste management, dismantling and recycling industries,
and other stakeholder groups, including charities, local authorities,
retailers and producers to ensure that systems will be in place
to deal with the anticipated increase in separately collected
WEEE. The Directive will require producers to meet the costs for
the collection, treatment and recovery of WEEE. The recent Discussion
Paper on the WEEE Directive, sought views from stakeholders on
implementation options that would ensure environmental benefits
are maximised in the most cost effective manner. Responses are
currently being collated and analysed, and will be fed into the
next round of consultation due to be issued later this year.
18. The planning system is cumbersome. It takes
too long to make decisions and, in the absence of effective waste
management strategies in some areas, the decisions which are made
are too often inconsistent. This increases the risk presented
to those seeking to attract investment in waste management facilities
and results in much nugatory work (para 85).
56. The Government accepts that the planning system
can be complex, slow and variable between local authorities, but
equally it recognises that it is fundamental to the way our towns
and cities look and the way we live our lives. That is why the
Green Paper "Planning: delivering a fundamental change",
published in December 2001, highlighted the good aspects of the
planning system which are to remain untouched, but proposed changes
which would reduce the complexity of development plans and national
planning guidance, speed up decision-making and engage local communities
more in the planning process.
57. Some of these matters are being taken forward
in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill—for example
the proposed strengthening of the arrangements for preparing regional
strategies, including those on waste, to ensure they provide a
strong strategic policy framework within which the new style development
plans—the Local Development Frameworks—can be prepared.
The Government has also put forward proposals for speeding up
the processing of planning applications because it recognises
the particular impact this has on business in terms of the timing
and nature of investment decisions.
58. Other proposals in the Green Paper have already
been taken forward—for example the revision of all planning
policy guidance. This includes PPG10 "Planning and Waste
Management" on which preliminary review work has started
and which will set out the Government's clear planning policy
messages for the management of waste. It is envisaged that these
initiatives will result in a faster and more predictable planning
system that should provide business with greater certainty and
confidence in making waste management investment decisions.
19. We welcome the fact that DEFRA is "currently
examining the possibility of future staff resource increases alongside
the Government's official response to the Strategy Unit report".
Such resources are essential if DEFRA is to co-ordinate the delivery
of consistent messages on waste from all Government departments
(para 87).
59. The Government has confirmed an additional £1.5m
will be made available for administrative resource in Defra to
implement delivery. This is part of the new strategic investment
programme announced in the Budget 2003. Recruitment for additional
posts within the strategy and delivery teams is underway.
60. Waste is a beacon area in Defra, and as such,
the new WIP Programme is being delivered using Programme and Project
Management (PPM) procedures, being promoted across Government
to improve delivery. Staff implementing the programme will benefit
from professional development, and recognition through a PPM reporting
mechanism.
61. Along with the creation of the Waste Implementation
Programme, Defra's Waste Strategy Division is also being restructured.
The modified administrative arrangements should improve coherence
and efficiency, helping to deliver more progress on waste policy
in the future.
20. We urge the Government to ensure that the
Agency is adequately resourced to meet the challenge of changing
forms of regulation and increasing numbers of waste management
facilities (para 88).
62. The Government agrees that the Environment Agency
should be adequately resourced. The Agency has continued to receive
significant grant-in-aid from the Department. This has increased
from £103.7m in 1999/2000 to a budgeted £123.7m in 2003/04.
63. In total, the Agency's budget, comprising grant
plus charges and levies, has increased from £620m in 1999/2000
to £805m in 2003/04. These are substantial resources, and
in the Government's view, the Agency is sufficiently funded to
deliver its statutory responsibilities.
64. It is for the Agency to organise those resources
so that its waste function is adequately resourced but the Government
is confident that the Agency has been provided with adequate means
to do so.
21. The Environment Agency has recently applied
to DEFRA for additional funding to support a Fly Tipping Abatement
Task Force (£14 million start up costs plus annual running
costs of £1 million). We recommend that DEFRA gives this
application urgent and sympathetic consideration (para 89).
65. Defra is supportive of the Agency's bid for their
Fly Tipping Abatement Force as we agree that more resources are
needed for enforcement. Funds will however need to be found through
the normal spending process and so no commitments can be given
at this time.
22. Both the Environment Agency and local authorities
need more defined responsibilities and improved powers to help
combat the growth in fly-tipping. We recommend that DEFRA takes
the opportunity presented by the Anti-Social Behaviour Bill to
address the weaknesses in the anti fly tipping regime (para 90).
66. Several measures have been included in the Anti-Social
Behaviour Bill currently before Parliament. These are:
· Powers
for the Secretary of State to issue statutory directions to the
Environment Agency and local authorities on their respective roles
and responsibilities. These will clarify the division of responsibilities
for dealing with fly tipping. The provision also includes a requirement
for annual data returns to be sent to Defra and should ensure
the problems caused by the current lack of national data are overcome.
· Local
authorities will be given the Agency's powers to stop, search
and seize vehicles suspected of being used for fly tipping.
· Local
authorities will also be given the Agency's powers to investigate
incidents in the level of detail required to pursue successful
prosecutions.
Defra is also considering other options for tackling
fly tipping that will be brought forward at the next legislative
opportunity.
23. The Environment Agency has also applied to
DEFRA for additional funding to support a National Waste Data
Centre for England and Wales. We recommend that DEFRA supports
its establishment (para 91).
67. The Strategy Unit recommended that Defra and
the Environment Agency jointly draw up a data and research strategy
for delivery over the next three years. It is intended this will
provide a sound evidence base for better-informed policy development,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation, at both national and
local levels.
68. The first stage of delivery will include a review
of research and data needs and the establishment of an advisory
group of key stakeholders to oversee development of the detailed
data and research programmes and ensure effective co-ordination
and delivery.
69. The Environment Agency have submitted initial
proposals for a National Waste Strategy Support Centre to deliver
elements of this programme. These will be subject to further discussion
and development before firm decisions on funding transfers are
taken at the end of the summer.
July 2003
1 'Waste not, Want not - A strategy for tackling the
waste problem in England',
Strategy Unit, November 2002 Back
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