Clause 4 - Allocation of landfill allowances
Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
Mr Michael Meacher (Minister of State (the Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Oldham West and Royton, Labour)
We shall discuss that when we come to clause 31, but I agree that in giving a legal power of enforcement—a legally enforceable mechanism—there must be a right of appeal against undue restraint or unfair practice. However, I accept that we cannot put an untrammelled power of direction in the hands of one authority, to be used against another.
The second reason that we did not want to use penalties, preferring a power of direction, is that it
would become a fight about who had responsibility and not about joint working. The emphasis is wrong. Thirdly, penalties would drain money out of the system and that is the last thing that we want to do. If anything, we need more money in the system and financial penalties would have a perverse and unintended effect. That is why we have chosen this fall-back method of fostering good relations between collection and disposal authorities. I hope, with that explanation, that the amendment will be withdrawn.