APPENDIX 2: CORRESPONDENCE (SI 2005/2900)
Letter from the Chairman to Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister
for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
As you know, your Department laid these Regulations
before Parliament on 18 October 2005, to come into force on 21
November.
In the Committee's 12th Report of the current Session,
we drew the special attention of the House to the Regulations.
We expressed concern that not enough had been done to put householders
on notice that they will be made subject to the new duty of care
from the end of November and to explain the implications. We
referred to advice that we had received from your Department,
which appeared to show that the Government were planning publicity
at or after the date when the new duty came into force. We commented
that the publicity for regulatory requirements affecting so many
people should have been initiated well in advance of this date.
In parallel with reporting the Regulations to the
House, we raised further queries with your Department about the
practical implications of the new duty. At our meeting yesterday,
we considered the response which had been provided. (I should
add that your Department have been very prompt to respond to our
queries.)
We are publishing the response in our 13th Report.
The Committee agreed that there is nothing in the response to
allay the concern that we previously expressed. We have yet to
see evidence that your Department have adequately considered,
and prepared for, the impact on householders of this new duty.
We are concerned that a duty which was put in place (under section
34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) in order to apply
to businesses has now been extended to householders (albeit in
modified form), without sufficient consideration of the difficulties
which householders may face in complying with the duty.
We have been told that your Department are working
closely with the Local Government Association to encourage local
authorities to make householders aware of the changes at a local
level. However, as stated in our 12th Report, we consider that
effective communication with householders about the new duty should
have been carried out much sooner.
9 November 2005
Letter from Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister for Local
Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs, to the Chairman
Thank you for your letter of 9 November about the
above Regulations that were laid in Parliament on 18 October 2005.
The Regulations were made following a judgment of
the European Court of Justice, which was delivered on 16 December
2004 and concerned the UK's implementation of various parts of
the Waste Framework Directive. The Regulations address one aspect
of the judgment and they ensure the Government will comply with
its obligations arising under Article 8 of the Waste Framework
Directive in relation to England.
However, this proposal is not a new issue as proposals
to extend the duty of care to include householders were originally
subject to a full public consultation in the 'Living Places: Powers,
Rights, Responsibilities' consultation published in 2002. The
proposal received general support from respondents, including
many local authorities and the Local Government Association.
The Government has already started making householders
aware of their responsibility to deal with household waste appropriately.
My department issued a national press release to publicise annual
fly-tipping data, which also emphasised the responsibility of
householders in this regard, and confirmed that the Government
was laying Regulations in both Houses of Parliament which would
apply a duty of care to occupiers of domestic property in relation
to household waste produced on such property. At this time I also
attended a publicity event and conducted several interviews to
raise awareness of the problem of fly-tipping and to make sure
that members of the public were aware of the relevant issues.
This was followed up by another national press release
issued on 14 November which set out the detail of the changes
to the duty of care regime and that a news story and further information
was available on the Defra website.
My department has also funded the Environment Agency
to make improvements to the authorised waste carrier database
to allow all householders to check more easily whether companies
are authorised to carry waste. Members of the public can enter
a postcode into the website, which will then provide a list of
authorised waste carriers in that area. This is actively being
promoted by the Environment Agency.
We have also been working very closely with the Local
Government Association (LGA) and local authorities to make sure
the changes made by the Regulations are dealt with appropriately.
The LGA has sent out an alert and briefing to local authority
Chief Executives to make them aware of the changes and encourage
them to notify residents and householders.
However, ultimately enforcement of the duty of care
rests with the Environment Agency (as the waste regulation authority)
and waste collection authorities. Promotion of the changes and
awareness of the proper methods of legal disposal can be more
effective at a targeted local level. Government will make sure
local authorities continue to promote the duty of care and encourage
members of the public to be more responsible with their waste.
It should be brought to the attention of the Committee
that my Department plans to introduce Regulations early in 2006
which will amend section 33(2) of the Environmental Protection
Act 1990 to ensure that household waste disposed of within the
curtilage of a domestic property is disposed of properly, without
causing environmental pollution or harm to human health. These
Regulations were the subject of a public consultation exercise
which took place between 9 December 2004 and 18 March 2005.
18 November 2005
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