To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of the spending review as far as it applies to the waste element of the Minister for Transport and the Environment's portfolio.
For years we have disposed of our waste in the cheapest way possible, dumping it in landfills. We must deal with it in a more sustainable way in future.
Last year I adopted a National Waste Strategy for Scotland. That strategy is now beginning to become a reality. The spending review has provided some of the significant resources which will be required to bring about the long-term change which is necessary if we are to meet our EC obligations for diversion of waste from landfill.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), local authorities, the waste industry, local enterprise companies, non-governmental organisations and others have begun to work together in 11 Waste Strategy Areas which cover all of Scotland. Each group has investigated the type and quantity of waste produced in their area. Now each area has begun to develop plans identifying the best practicable environmental option for dealing with that waste.
As foreshadowed in my written answer on 22 September (question S1W-10051), I am making special arrangements for allocating £50.4 million for local authorities to invest in waste to help implement the National Waste Strategy. I intend to establish a specific grant scheme, known as the Strategic Waste Fund, which will be used for allocating these funds. The funds will be spread over the three years of the spending review as follows:
2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | Total |
£4.2 million | £16.0 million | £30.2 million | £50.4 million |
The Strategic Waste Fund will be flexible enough to award both current and capital grants as well as provide support for Public/Private Partnership projects where these are shown to be the best method of delivering waste services. The funds will be allocated to local authorities on the basis of readiness for expenditure on activities detailed in Area Waste Plans. In some cases funds may be allocated to groups of authorities working together. These resources will be applied to the implementation of the Area Waste Plans.
We expect that these resources will contribute significantly to meeting the first targets to reduce the amount of waste landfilled by 2010 under the EC Landfill Directive. My officials hope to work with CoSLA and SEPA to identify funding priorities. The actual facilities and services purchased will depend on the conclusions reached in the Area Waste Plans. Expenditure which may be undertaken includes separate collections, composting machinery, materials reclamation facilities, energy from waste technology and integrated waste management contracts.
The Strategic Waste Fund will initially cover the three years of the Spending Review. However, I am also making available a further £3 million to start the fund this financial year. This will be distributed to all authorities using a standard population-based local government revenue allocation formula. This means that all authorities will have increased funds available to them this year to invest in composting and recycling. This will help kick-start the changes we need. Authorities will be expected to provide the Executive with details of what they intend to spend the money on and also on progress made in due course. Examples of the types of activities I expect to be funded are the provision of home composting containers or the extension of recycling schemes.
As I announced on 22 September, part of the Executive's overall allocation for local authority expenditure includes nearly £50 million extra for environmental services. This includes an increased element for waste. It is for local authorities to allocate these funds according their own priorities and I hope that they will ensure that an appropriate amount is directed to waste management to sustain and improve this vital service.
Last year the Executive identified £2.5 million for local authorities to plan and prepare for the implementation of the National Waste Strategy: Scotland. Over the period of the spending review we will continue to provide this funding within the main local government finance settlement.
A major problem for recycling in Scotland, the UK and around the world, is the lack of markets for recycled materials. The Executive will seek to combat this by becoming a partner in the ground-breaking Waste Resource Action Programme (WRAP) with DETR, DTI and Wales.
The programme will focus on breaking down institutional barriers to recycling. Many of these barriers have been shown to be at a UK level and only a UK-wide programme such as WRAP can address these properly. For example, work on materials specifications will be addressed by WRAP working with the British Standards Institute.
WRAP will have a business focus and will concentrate initially on market facilitation, promoting investment in recycling, research and information management and the provision of guidance, advice and technical support.
Over the three years of the spending review, the Executive will be contributing £2.1 million to the programme which is seeking overall funding of around £25 million per year. This programme will complement the work of ReMaDe Scotland - to which the Executive will continue to contribute. ReMaDe Scotland investigates alternative uses for recyclable materials and brings together waste reprocessors and end users in an effort to stimulate investment in recycling and stabilise markets for recyclable materials.
Finally, we shall make available a further £400,000 over 2002-03 and 2003-04. This will enable the Executive to offer grants to support innovative waste prevention, re-use, recycling and composting projects. The grants may be paid to voluntary organisations, local authorities or other bodies.
Before making decisions about the resources needed by local authorities as part of the spending review, the Executive commissioned research from independent consultants, Enviros Aspinwall, to estimate the future needs to meet the Landfill Directive targets. This work showed that expenditure on waste management will probably have to increase at current prices by more than one third of current levels each year by 2010 and double by 2020. I am pleased that CoSLA and SEPA worked closely with the consultants on this work and I have made a copy of the full report available to the Parliament today. The research report showed the size of the task we face by identifying that if the growth in waste production continues we will effectively have to compost or recycle some 12 times more than the current rate by 2010. This will increase to twenty times more by 2016 and twenty five times more by 2020.
It is clear that not all this expenditure can be provided overnight but I am pleased that the Executive has been able to commit considerable resources to allow local authorities to start to bring about real change in the way we deal with our waste, change which the public wants and Scotland needs.
