PM slammed over pay-as-you-throw ‘dithering’

08 May 2008

Prime minister Gordon Brown has been slammed for ‘wasting millions of pounds’ after another suspected U-turn over pay-as-you-throw schemes.

The Local Government Association (LGA) accused Brown of dithering, following leaks to the national press saying he would veto plans to let councils introduce the controversial schemes. It also warned that scrapping the plans would leave councils facing hundreds of millions of pounds to pay in EU landfill tax.

Councillor Paul Bettison, the LGA’s environment spokesman, said: ‘Millions of pounds have been set aside to pay for councils carrying out these pilots, and that will now be wasted. ‘We’re a long way down the process and U-turns always look like dithering. It is the action of someone who does not know what he is doing.’

Bettison said the decision would grate with top ministers, including environment secretary, Hilary Benn, and foreign secretary, David Miliband, who introduced the idea in 2006. ‘Joan Ruddock – the environment minister – has been very clear on this right from the start,’ he said. ‘She understands that waste collection requires an array of tools. Miliband and Benn are both in favour. They have fought for this.’

He also accused the prime minister of seeking short-term popularity at the expense of long-term prosperity, which could result in a loss of other services. ‘These councils will have to pay these huge fines and will not be able to increase council tax because he is bearing down on that with capping. They will then have to make difficult decisions on cutting services,’ he said.

But the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs insisted that pilots, brought in with the Climate Change Bill last year, would still go ahead. ‘Five local authorities will, next year, be undertaking pilot schemes to create incentives for recycling,’ said a spokeswoman. ‘We will evaluate the impact of those pilots before making a final decision on whether other local authorities can introduce similar schemes.’

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PM slammed over pay-as-you-throw ‘dithering’

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