Written evidence to be reported to the House
Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill
2:16 pm
Phil Woolas: The proposal stems from the question “Why doesn’t the power already exist?” Most people assume on a common-sense level that a group of districts in a county could have a joint waste authority. Metropolitan areas have had joint waste authorities for donkey’s years. We consulted people—the Association of District Treasurers in particular had strong views—and there are some strong examples of where it is working in the real world. Hampshire county and districts is one of the areas that we looked at in particular.
We will introduce the amendment, therefore, in response to the work of local councils, particularly the Innovation Forum, a group of the top-rated councils. Part of our strategy is to build up expertise in local government that can be shared. As the work was coming through—it published its report in summer 2006—we were not quite ready.