Memorandum submitted by Oldham Metropolitan
Borough Council
1. INTRODUCTION
Following the announcement by the Local Government
Information Unit (LGIU) on 10 November 2005 advising of the Inquiry
being conducted by Parliament's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Select Committee, Oldham MBC has considered the eight points of
detailed interest to the Inquiry included with the link provided
by the LGIU. Five of these in particular have been highlighted
by the LGIU as being of relevance to Local Authorities.
Oldham MBC now wishes to respond on four of
the eight points of interest where the Authority has experience
of working in partnership with the Agency.
The comments offered relate to experience in
working with the South Area of the North West Region of the Agency
and working with the Agency at National Level. The comments are
included in the following:
2. POINTS OF
DETAILED INTEREST
2.1 Point of Detailed Interest—"How
successful the Environment Agency has been in its role as enforcer
of environmental regulations and controls and how well it manages
its wider range of activities".
Response—No comments offered.
2.2 Point of Detailed Interest—"Whether
the Agency operates efficiently and provides good value for money".
Response—No comments offered.
2.3 Point of Detailed Interest—"The
structure, governance, and accountability of the Agency".
Response—The Council has concerns about
how well the Agency's Regional Environmental Protection Advisory
Councils (REPAC's) are able to engage efficiently with stakeholders.
The Council understands that currently there is approximately
one representative on each REPAC for every five Local Authorities
where Oldham does not currently have a representative on the relevant
REPAC covering the northern part of Greater Manchester.
In relation to the production of area based
initiatives such as "LEAPS" based upon main river catchment
areas where the boundaries are often not coterminous with Local
Authorities, the Council whilst accepting this does not detract
from the high quality of any initiative produced, views the difference
in boundaries as being unhelpful in achieving public acceptance
of Agency initiatives. The Council is aware of the "City
Region" concept which may allow Gershon and other efficiency
savings to be delivered and suggests the Agency consider this
concept as one option to define boundaries.
2.4 Point of Detailed Interest—"Its
relationship with DEFRA, DEFRA sponsored bodies including the
Agency's role in the Planning System".
Response—The Council can only comment
in part in relation to this Detailed Point. The Council is a Member
of the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection
(NSCA) and plays an active role in the work of the Society where
the Secretariat of the North West Division is currently based
in Oldham. The Society works nationally based from Brighton on
an intermittent but continual basis in partnership with DEFRA
who sponsor many Policy, Research and Education Projects which
DEFRA would otherwise find it difficult to complete within deadlines
set by external influences. In connection with this work by the
Society, the Agency regularly contributes significantly on a national
basis providing expert witnesses who can comment effectively on
strategic air quality, air pollution control, land contamination,
sustainability and waste management issues. Without this input
by the Agency the quality of the Society's outputs on Projects
of this type would be difficult to maintain without other public
sector and private sector stakeholders duplicating areas of competence.
More detail of the work of the NSCA can be accessed by viewing
the website: www.nsca.org.uk which reflects particularly in
the work of the Council of the Society, the contributions of individual
Agency expert witnesses.
2.5 Point of Detailed Interest—"The
Agency's relationship with non governmental stakeholders and the
general public and how the Agency monitors satisfaction with its
services.
Response—The Council can only comment
in part on this point but accepts that as a Regional Government
Agency, the Agency can never appear to respond operationally to
incidents of concern to the public in the same way that a Local
Authority is able to. Anecdotal evidence acquired from experience
in providing services to the general public within the Oldham
area confirms that the public still view the Local Authority as
the regulator for all environmental incidents and they do not
appreciate how responsibility for regulation and partnerships
have developed since the inception of the Agency in 1996. The
Council is of the view that this will not be remedied on a short
term basis where as an alternative to publicity and the promotion
of a public image, continual implementations of partnership working
arrangements with bodies like Local Authorities is the most appropriate
way of providing public benefit using finite resources. In the
longer term through the continual delivery of high quality services,
the Council is of the view that the Agency's competences will
be recognised by community stakeholders.
In terms of the monitoring of services the Council
is aware that in relation to strategic areas of work the Agency
builds in the monitoring of service through all initiatives implemented.
2.6 Point of Detailed Interest—"How
the organisational changes brought about by the Natural Environment
and Rural Communities Bill will affect the role of the Agency".
Response—No comments are offered in relation
to this point.
2.7 Point of Detailed Interest—"How
the Agency's work in improving wildlife habitats will help with
Natural Englands work on Bio diversity".
Response—No comments are offered in relation
to this point.
2.8 Point of Detailed Interest—"The
Environment Agency's forthcoming Corporate Strategy 2006-11".
Response—The Council whilst not offering
detailed comments on individual details of the Strategy wishes
to provide general background comments. The Council is of the
view that as a regulator, the Agency performs well in answering
the demands made upon it but will never be able to appear to achieve
good performance in the views of community stakeholders. This
is felt to be related to continual under-resourcing and historically
the Agency not being able to give a high enough priority to the
work of operational field officers with whom local Council officers
regularly liaise. Anecdotally community stakeholders will often
pass the remark that environmental policing does not appear to
be visible enough.
Additionally, whilst accountability arrangements
exist in all areas of public service, there do not appear to be
consistent opportunities to challenge local Environment Agency
Enforcement decisions as currently can occur with the regulatory
role implemented by Local Authorities. This has been of some importance
to community stakeholders in the past with the Waste Licensing
Regime and may acquire additional community importance in relation
to the transfer to the Agency from Local Authorities of certain
processes now regulated under Part A2 of Pollution Prevention
and Control Act 1999 (PPC) Legislation which in the future will
be regulated under Part A1 of the associated Regulations.
The Council has recent experience of working
regionally in partnership with the Agency on a "Working Better
Together" initiative which is tackling the serious issue
of criminal fly tipping using the Agency's "Fly capture"
Information Technology database. The Council views the success
of this initiative as a model which could lead to the development
of similar partnerships for other technical areas and sees this
as a way forward to effective partnership working in the future.
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council
December 2005
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