Local Authorities (Prohibition of Charging Residents to Deposit Household Waste) Order 2015

Lord McKenzie of Luton Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2015 Grand Committee

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con)]

My Lords, the draft order was laid before this House on 25 February. It prohibits local authorities in England charging their residents to enter into or exit from household waste recycling centres or deposit household waste or recycling at such centres. The order reinforces the principle that such centres—also known as civic amenity sites or tips—should be provided free to use by the general public or local residents in the area.

From provisions previously contained in the Civic Amenities Act 1967 to the current provisions in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Parliament has required local authorities to provide free-to-use household waste recycling centres for their residents to dispose of household waste. The Government’s 2011 waste review supported that principle and the order reaffirms the status quo.

The order has been brought before this House because the Government know that some councils have introduced, or plan to introduce, such charges and we are seriously concerned that they will inconvenience residents, make recycling harder and increase fly-tipping and backyard burning.

The Government understand that in the Republic of Ireland, which has a series of charges on household waste disposal, the domestic burning of household rubbish is the biggest single source of toxic dioxin emissions into the air. Such pollution crosses local authority boundaries, creating a wider harm to the public good.

The councils in England introducing this “tip tax” appear to consider the household waste recycling centres in question as additional to those required to be provided without charge under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and offer them as a discretionary service—one that councils have power but not a duty to provide.

The Localism Act 2011 gave councils in England the general power of competence. This enables them to do anything an individual might do, other than that which is specifically prohibited by law. As such, in the absence of specific limitations, councils can set up discretionary services and charge for their use.

The Localism Act also gave the Secretary of State the power to make an order restricting what a council may do under the general power of competence, recognising that there were occasions where that would be appropriate. The provisions in the Localism Act operate side-by-side with those in the Local Government Act 2003, which also enable councils to charge for discretionary services, and the Government have adopted a belt and braces approach. A separate order made under the negative resolution procedure prohibiting councils from using the 2003 Act to introduce similar charges will come into force on 6 April. Drafts of both orders were provided as part of the public consultation that the Government ran for four weeks earlier this year.

I now turn to the concerns of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee regarding the length of time given for responses to the consultation and the argument that the order will lead to centres closing. Although acknowledging that a four-week consultation could result in a limited response, I do not consider that that occurred. Thirteen respondents felt that four weeks was insufficient, but the quality of responses demonstrates that providing detailed input was possible in the time available.

I reject the committee’s assertion that the judgment of the Government on the timing of the consultation was self-serving. The Government carefully considered all responses in taking their decision on whether to introduce the order. They have also been mindful of the views of affected residents. Norfolk County Council plans to introduce charges at nine of its 20 centres. Respondents opposed that when the county council consulted on its proposal, citing concerns about fly-tipping and the unfairness of charging for a service that they believe is paid for through council tax.

The Government do not want centres to close as a result of the order. Sites already making such charges will have until April 2020 to make alternative arrangements. The Government invited views on how centres at risk of closure can stay open without councils resorting to charging. Respondents provided a number of useful, sensible ideas. It will be for councils to determine the necessary blend of these and other effective measures to make such centres more cost-effective. Hampshire County Council argues that many sites are not viable for its area and that if this order is implemented it will have no option but to consider site closures, resulting in increased fly-tipping and thus imperfectly achieving the policy objective of environmental protection. However, I cannot agree that the “charge or close” scenario is inevitable. For example, Northamptonshire County Council has asked residents for views on how its household waste recycling centres could be run more efficiently. Options included entry charges and site closures, but residents were opposed. Using feedback, the council refined its plans and alternative measures are being put in place to significantly reduce costs.

The Government encourage councils to innovate and confidently use their general power of competence to act for their communities, and in their own financial interest to generate efficiencies and savings. However, having regard to the Government’s clearly expressed policy of free-to-use centres for residents, householders deserving a comprehensive waste and recycling service paid for by council tax, concerns that charges will not benefit local communities and the consultation responses, the Government consider it appropriate to prevent councils using the general power of competence in these particular circumstances. I therefore commend the order to the Committee.

[Lord McKenzie of Luton (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction of this order. More particularly, I thank the House of Lords Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee, whose diligence in this case has been particularly helpful in getting a better understanding of what is going on here.

We are supportive of the principle that household waste recycling centres should be free to use, as charging could lead to an increase in fly-tipping and damage to the environment, but I am bound to say that this order seems to be central government micro-managing gone mad. Just a few years ago we legislated to give local authorities freedom because we believed that they have the competence and desire to do the right thing for their communities; but here we are now, snatching that freedom away. Can the Minister confirm that so far only one authority, the Somerset Waste Partnership, has actually introduced a charge? A few others are thinking about doing so, but as things stand, only one authority would be eligible to take advantage of the grandfathering provisions through to 2020. If it is not just that one authority, can the Minister tell us which other authorities are involved?

The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has criticised the consultation process as being too short, at only four weeks. Although it stated that the period should be six weeks minimum, it argues that in this case, given the intervention in local authority powers, it should be longer. Despite what the Minister said, it points out that one in five respondents criticised the period allowed for responses. Why do the Government consider it so vital to press on with this order in these circumstances and not take a pause? It is hardly a matter of national security.

There is further criticism, which we endorse, about the consideration of the responses. Just over half opposed the change. Not only was the opposition anti-localist, but there was a clear consensus about the measure being counterproductive—that is, that it would lead to closures of household waste recycling centres, with consequent increases in fly-tipping.

Consultation has elicited certain suggestions, as we have heard, for ways of avoiding site closures, but considerable doubt has been cast on the effectiveness of those, including by Hampshire County Council, which has been referred to. What detailed work have the Government undertaken to assess the viability of these alternatives? What specific models have they developed to assist authorities to avoid closure in the short to medium-term, and what assurance can the Minister give that actual closures of sites will be avoided? Why are the Government so dismissive of the points made by Hampshire County Council?

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[Lord McKenzie of Luton]

The specific focus on numbers was to do with the number of authorities, partnership arrangements or whatever which would be protected by the grandfathering provisions—that is, those which have got a charge at the moment and which they can keep until 2020. Does that apply only to those which have it as of today? What about those which are in the process of thinking about it—or might be encouraged to think about it depending on the Minister’s answer?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

It will be only the one which is currently in place, which is Somerset. Grandfathering, as I remember from my life in financial services, was often applicable only to those in situ, much to the annoyance of those who had to sit exams. That is a well founded principle.

The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, asked about local authorities being able to charge for non-household waste or to charge users who are not residents within the local authority area where the site is located. The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, asked, in his own charming way, what is a resident. I am sure that he knows the answer already. As he knows from his own experience, a resident of a local authority is one who lives within the council’s boundary in which the centre is sited. I can give him a practical example of how this was measured from my time in a local authority. After much hard campaigning in my ward I had managed to open a recycling centre, but this was quickly closed by the then Labour council when the authority changed hands. People from my borough tried to go into neighbouring Wandsworth sites but they had to show a local council tax bill at the entrance before gaining entry. Of course, as a Merton resident, I was unable to avail myself of the excellent facilities in the Conservative council next door. However, on a more general point, there are means available to local authorities to ensure that only residents use the sites and not non-residents.

The noble Lord also asked about business waste. The Government recognise that many local authorities charge household waste recycling centres for the deposit of non-household waste, such as car tyres, and/or for users who are not resident in the local area.

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[Lord McKenzie of Luton]

One can understand that there may well be alternatives in some authorities to introducing charging other than closure, but the Government seem to be saying that local authorities can do pretty much anything other than closure. We know that some authorities are already restricting hours, which makes the facility less accessible and it more likely that fly-tipping will take place. Why do the Government say that local authorities can do what they want in all those areas but not simply introduce a charge if that were the one effective way to keep a facility open? That is not logical in any way, shape or form.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Again, I know from my experience that when you look at the usage of such amenity sites from local residents, it often falls on weekends rather than during the week, so there is a sensible and practical way of managing hours. Contrary to what the noble Lords, Lord McKenzie and Lord Beecham, said, the Government believe in localism. That is why we introduced the Localism Act.

The noble Lord laughs. The point is that this Government have done a great deal for localism in empowering local people in community rights debates, and so on and so forth. Unless there are other specific questions, I believe that I have answered the questions raised and I once again commend the order—

[Lord McKenzie of Luton]

Before the noble Lord sits down, I should make clear that we want to reflect further on this. I do not say that we will, but we may well want to move a Motion of Regret or other sort when the Motion is reported to the House. It is right to put the Government on notice that that is a possibility given where we are in the timetable. We cannot conclude that here.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

Hansard will have recorded the noble Lord’s comments. I cannot let the final comment pass. The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, talked about whoever it is in power post 7 May. I of course look forward to standing where I am and addressing further concerns that he may have post 7 May. I commend the Motion.