Written question asked by Robert Neill (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 5 January 2010. It was answered by Dan Norris (Labour) on Tuesday, 5 January 2010 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Joint Waste Authorities

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the latest timetable is for the establishment of joint waste authorities; and in which areas he expects the first such authorities to be established.

Answer: No proposals to establish a joint waste authority have been received to date, though several groups of authorities have submitted non-committal expressions of interest in pursuing this option and DEFRA is working with them to explore what is required—details are available on DEFRA'S website. Development of a full proposal is expected to take a considerable amount of time, and we are keen that authorities do this in line with local needs.If a proposal is submitted we expect that it will take at least 12 months to assess, approve if relevant, and implement the legal changes necessary to establish a joint waste authority.We will be working closely with authorities as they progress their plans for joint working, through the support programme we have put in place. All forms of advanced partnership working on waste can bring significant benefits, in terms of improved and more efficient service provision.

Secondary information