Briefings and responses

Councils would welcome greater flexibility on local revenue and capitalraising powers, to support their ability to manage local flood and coastal erosion risk management risks.

Giving councils a sustainable financial settlement is the long term solution to protecting and enhancing trees in public spaces, and this must be addressed in the forthcoming Spending Review.  

This briefing provides a summary of the Strategy, with a specific focus on those elements which are most likely to directly impact upon local government. The key concepts within the strategy are subject to consultation which is likely to take place from January 2019 onwards.

The LGA has long called for businesses and manufacturers to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging.

Local authorities share the Government’s commitment to improving air quality and support the phasing out the most polluting products used for domestic burning given their contribution to emissions.   

Over the past year our members have placed increased importance on the future of mobility and therefore it is a policy area where the LGA has become more active.

Waste and recycling are among the most valued services any council provides. They are used by all council taxpayers and represent the third biggest spend item in a council’s budget. A doubling of spend by councils to £3.28 billion has seen recycling rates improve 400 per cent in the last decade.

Fly-tipping is an environmental and public health hazard. It blights our streets and green spaces, and often rewards criminal activity. Local authorities want to work with the Government to strengthen deterrents to fly-tipping and ensure those who illegally dump waste are punished.

The LGA responded to consultation from government on new powers for councils to issue fixed penalty notices to householders for failing to meet their duties in disposing of waste. This could provide a useful alternative to prosecution for “duty of care” offences.

We support the Government’s ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Producers must do more to ensure that packaging is easily recyclable. This would make waste disposal easier for our residents, and save considerable amounts of money, whilst protecting our environment.