Board launched to manage capital’s waste

20 June 2007

The Government has announced plans to set up a statutory London Waste and Recycling Board which will manage the capital’s dedicated £19M waste fund and provide strategic direction.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) will move to make an amendment to the Greater London Authority Bill, which will give the board statutory power to control the London Waste and Recycling Fund.
The move has been welcomed by London Councils but rejected by London mayor, Ken Livingstone, in the latest instalment of the two parties’ ongoing battle over the issue.
Environment minister, Ben Bradshaw, said the new approach would ‘respect’ the strategic role of the mayor and the delivery role of the boroughs, while providing ‘focus, clarity and stability’.
It could concentrate on ‘getting things done’ in London. It would not take functions from existing bodies and would not be a waste disposal or collection authority, he said.
‘I believe this framework provides an opportunity for London government at all levels to work constructively together with other key stakeholders.
‘The board will be able to direct the fund towards issues which London itself identifies as priorities, including stimulating investment in infrastructure,’ Bradshaw said.
The board will consist of 11 representatives – four from London boroughs and four from the Greater London Authority, three community and business representatives, and the mayor to chair the board. Livingstone can nominate a chair, if he prefers.
London Councils championed the decision, saying the Government had supported its argument.
‘Now is the time to move on from this debate on how to structure London’s waste management to focusing on working together to improve recycling,’ chairman Cllr Merrick Cockell said.
However, Livingstone has written to Bradshaw to object to the Government’s approach, saying he sees no purpose in participating in a board that is ‘no more than an administrative mechanism to deliver a funding system’.

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Board launched to manage capital’s waste

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