ConservativeHome's Local Government Blog

How does your Council perform on the Fixmystreet website?

Grotspotting is an important part of a typical councillor's workload. The "broken windows" theory is well known and shows the importance of getting graffiti cleaned off quickly before a district is dragged down. As well as spotting grot ourselves we rely on other residents to tell us about it. The residents hope that as councillors we have the status to ensure such problems are dealt with.

Another approach I have noticed is the website fixmystreet.com. Anyone can email in a report and it is forwarded on the relevant Council. This system relies on transparency as a spur to action. The unresolved complaints from each Council are there are all to see - along with praise for the success stories where the matter has been sorted out.

It may not be as comprehensive a guide to a Council's performance as resident satisfaction surveys or Audit Commission inspections. Yet I suspect we will be seeing more pressure coming from initiatives like this in the future. Of course the public sector by its nature will be bureaucratic and inefficient but this sort of accountability helps.

Neo-classical wheelie bins?

In his first post for Conservative Home, Roger Scruton, Tory philosopher and former Professor of Aesthetics at Birkbeck, joins the debate on wheelie bins.

My views on wheelie bins: major objection to them is that they encourage people to make more waste, since they are of large capacity and make disposal of waste look easy. Second objection, they are made of non-biodegradable plastic and so are in the long run a huge accumulation of waste in themselves. Third objection, that they are ugly in shape, colour and proportions, as well as materials, and inevitably form a kind of visual pollution when assembled in front of houses.

On the other hand, if people object to them, they can always dispose of their own waste, as we do in America, by taking it to the dump.

Preferred solution: smaller wheelie bins, made out of wood, designed by Leon Krier or Quinlan Terry, embossed with the council coat of arms.

Tories back campaign against wheelie bins

Shadow Local Government Minister Bob Neill has expressed support for a campaign by the Daily Mail against wheelie bins. "Households up and down the country are being hit by the curse of wheelie bins - an obsession of bin bureaucrats," he says. "This is all being driven by meddling Labour Ministers who seem intent on dictating how people dispose of their rubbish. This campaign will send Gordon Brown a message that enough is enough."

Council officers are always desperate to comply with health and safety guidance from Whitehall. Conservative-run Guildford has cravenly cited Health & Safety Executive advice as the reason for introducing more wheelie bins. But it is only advice. They do not have to follow it.

A health and safety manual issued in 2007 states that refuse collection involving plastic bags has "potential for injury" and suggests: "Consider replacing bag collections with rigid receptacles where practicable." Yet as with so much health and safety zealotry the problem is theoretical rather than real. No council has identified a single case of being successfully sued by a dustman over a bin bag related injury.

The Daily Mail are to be applauded for their campaign. Councils disfiguring their streets with wheelie bins should desist from doing so.

Free M&S vouchers to reward recycling in Windsor

David Cameron has endorsed an initiative that has just been launched by Windsor and Maidenhead Council encouraging recyclers by offering them discounts at local and national businesses. The Recyclebank scheme – which is the first in the UK – will enable those who join to have their recycling exchanged for points, redeemable from 50 over companies including M&S.

Residents who sign up will have their recycling wheelie bins weighed; the heavier loads will accumulate more points. Points can then be redeemed from partner companies using the Recyclebank website.

The move to encourage recycling via incentives is in sharp contrast to authorities that have threatened to fine people who do not recycle. It is thought that a number of Conservative authorities will follow the
Royal Borough’s move.

How should Councils cope with strikes?

Dustmen and street cleaners in Dundee are going on strike because Dundee Council have decided to pay them time and half rather than double time for working on Sundays and public holidays. The overtime is voluntary so the unions have a pretty weak case.

Often Council officers warn councillors against savings on the grounds that it would risk a strike. How should Councils respond? When I was growing up in Pimlico one of my local councillors in Churchill Ward, Westminster was Michael Forsyth, the future cabinet minister. During the Winter of Discontent when the rubbish was uncollected he emptied the dustbins himself, along with a team of volunteers. Not quite sure how all the logistics worked but that's pretty good service.

Contaminated recycling costs Council Taxpayers £12 millon

A Consumers Association (of Which? as its now known as) report suggests that £12 million could be saved on Council Tax bills by reducing the amount of contaminated recycling,

They say:

About 5% of recyclable items collected on the doorstep are rejected, but which.co.uk found that some councils rejected more than twice that amount. Councils that use co-mingled collection systems, where materials are collected mixed together, generally have higher rejection rates than those that operate a kerbside sorting system.

Plastic plant pot "health and safety hazard for dustmen."

Colchester Council, a Lib Dem/Labour coalition, has been criticised by a grandmother for their refuse collection policy. Diana Angel left out a sack of rubbish with a plastic plant pot and a broken dustpan and brush only to find it ripped open and left behind. She was sent a letter telling her it constituted bulky waste and she would have to pay £30 to have it removed.

Cllr Tim Young, a Labour councillor and the Cabinet Member for Waste, says the items "were considered a hazard" and "it might have been dangerous for the refuse collectors to take them away."

He's just become a spokesman for the council officers, hasn't he? He's been swallowed whole.  He's not really in control. This is what he should have said: "I'm very sorry, Mrs Angel. What happened was absurd. I have given instructions that this sort of incident should never happen again."

South Oxfordshire to join microschip in dustbins scheme

The Sunday Times reports that South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils are joining other councils in putting microchips in bins. The report says that 42 Councils, covering two million households have adopted the policy.

In The Daily Telegraph's report of the story today, Shadow Local Government Minister Bob Neill says using technology to make refuse collection more efficient is worthwhile but is worried it may prompt he Government to revive "their discredited pay-as-you-throw bin tax scheme."

Recycling everything in North Hertfordshire

Economic conditions have hit recycling but North Hertfordshire District Council, are keeping up an exceptionally ambitous programme. Cllr Lynda Needham, portfolio holder for recycling and wate, reports.

It is now some 15 months since we implemented a change of refuse collection and recycling.  Prior to this we had collected paper, glass and organic at the kerbside.  To encourage residents to recycle more we took two decisions, collect more items at the kerbside and then collect residual waste bi weekly.

We were receiving two messages from residents, please do not alter our collection system (we were reviewing this whilst the Daily Mail were clamouring for householders nationally to object to any changes in the system) and also a strong green lobby to do more and do it now.

Bin Tax binned

Never underestimate the awesome power of ConservativeHome's Local Government section. This morning we ran a piece by John Fuller opposing Labour's bin tax. This afternoon it emerges that the Government have abandoned the plans after not a single Council agreed to take part.  It's great to see councils finally withdrawing co-operation from Labour.

Throw out: "Pay as you throw."

Cllr John Fuller, the leader of South Norfolk Council, says the "pay as you throw" policy is a tax for people who live in houses.

About five years ago, South Norfolk Council received a grant from DEFRA for a technology trial to see whether it was practical to record how much rubbish residents threw away and to calculate the proportions between general refuse and dry recyclables.  It seemed so reasonable for the LibDems who were then in charge.

Residents would have two brand new wheelie bins, each equipped with a little chip that would enable the weight of rubbish to be recorded. At the end of the year, the Council would produce a little statement showing residents how much they had recycled.  There could even be a rewards ceremony for the highest achievers.

The Conservatives won the election in May 2007 and immediately started to review all aspects of the organisation.  Pretty quickly it became clear that the £25,000 extra cost and practical difficulties with each bin lorry were causing real problems.

Gordon Brown's bin tax? Just say no.

Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has written the following letter to Conservative councillors urging them no to sign up to Labour's bin tax

Dear Colleague,
Further to my email in June, I just wanted to write to update you on the Labour Government's plans to levy new bin taxes on family homes.

At the end of November, laws which allow the Government to impose new charges for household rubbish collections received Royal Assent. Ministers have confirmed that the Office of National Statistics will classify these new charges as a tax.

The Government's own impact assessment has predicted that, in due course, two out of three homes will face the new taxes. It is clear that if Labour were to win the general election, families across the country will be hit with these stealth taxes, on top of council tax.

Official technical documents reveal that the bin taxes will take one
of four forms:

• Bin bag tax: Households must pay for special bin bags. Rubbish not placed in a paid-for bag will not be collected.

• Bin size tax: Households will be charged for the size of their bin;with families requiring a bigger bin paying the most.

• Weekly collection tax: Households needing a weekly rubbish collection will pay an extra charge.

• Bin chip tax: Households will receive a bill based on the weight of the contents of their bin, with microchips in the bin feeding through to a central billing database.

Pay as you throw shunned

A Press Association survey has found considerable reluctance from Councils to take part in the Government's pay-as-you-throw pilot. One of the reasons given is a reluctance to impose extra costs on households during a recession.

Eric Pickles answers more of your questions

We have already published the first installment of answers to the questions you recently posed about local government reorganisation to shadow communities and local government secretary, Eric Pickles. Here is his second set of answers, covering how Conservative councils can be Conservative, local councils' use of anti-terrorism powers to spy one people, the Conservative revival in the north of England and the regularity of rubbish collections.

His final responses will be published tomorrow morning.

Questions from David Cooper and Deborah: What are your recommendations for strengthening the resolve of Conservative councillors, especially those in authorities that have recently changed hands, to deal with executive officers who either drag their feet over plans for efficiencies and savings or condone/encourage unacceptable treatment of council taxpayers in the name of the council? And how should the Conservative Party deal with those councillors who wore blue rosettes to get elected but who do not follow Conservative principles?

Eric Pickles: I believe in democracy, and as such I think elected representatives should make decisions in the interest of their communities, not unelected and unaccountable officials. The first question I always ask our council leaders is 'how would your electorate know you are a Conservative council?' It is surprising how many don't have an answer. It was the case that some of our Councils were delivering a version of Labour lite – delivering the government's agenda in an efficient and effective way that you would expect from a Tory council. But the time has come to break the consensus. I recently called on out councillors to "just say no" to the government if a Whitehall proposal wasn't in the best interests of their electorate. I am delighted that many of my local government colleagues have accepted that challenge. The clear illustration of this is the number of councils who have signed up to our council tax freeze policy. Those Councils make me extremely proud.

Adur Council threatened to fine residents for sweeping up the leaves.

Conservative-run Adur Council has told residents who had swept up the leaves in their street and bagged them up were told that they would be charged £43 for them to be removed. the good news is that the Council has now agreed to take them for free. They say there was a misunderstanding and hadn't realised the leaves had been swept up from the street.

Pickles backs weekly bin collection

Shadow Commuinites and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has pledged that a Conservative Government would stop bullying and penalising Councils which operate weekly refuse collection. Pickles says that under Labour the rat population has increased to 80 million due o the ant-weekly collections policy. Fly-tipping has soared.

The decision on weekly collection will still rest with local councils but Pickles will provide financial incentives to encourage weekly collections - with funds raised from abolition of Quangos.

Tories to find £121m to restore weekly bin collections

In the first big policy announcement of Conservative Party Conference, David Cameron has told the Daily Mail that a Conservative Government will find the money to allow councils to restore weekly bin collections for all households.

Just over half of councils have scrapped weekly collections.

The Mail notes:

"The average cost of weekly collections is £59.80 per household per year, compared to £44.63 for fortnightly ones. That means the total cost of moving back to weekly collections is £121million. The Tories say they will raise £133million by scrapping funding for a range of inspectorates, regional assemblies, Labour's new planning superquango and forcing councils to spend less on promotion."

The following bullet points were issued in a CCHQ press release this morning:

• "A Conservative Government will change Whitehall policy so that there is an expectation that councils should offer full weekly collections, ending and reversing the Labour policy of bin cuts, which are harming public health and the local environment.
• Central funding will be offered for all councils to have a proper weekly collection, so they can offer a proper refuse service, as well as comprehensive recycling collections. This will be provided by scrapping a series of unelected quangos and local government bureaucracy.
• Councils, subject to the ballot box, will still have the final decision on what services to offer – but they will no longer be forced and bullied into cutting services because of Whitehall diktats.
• Gordon Brown’s plans for new bin taxes will be scrapped. Labour’s stealth taxes threaten to harm the environment by fuelling fly-tipping and backyard burning.
• Conservatives will champion green incentives – from trials for free green compost bins, water butts, green cones and garden wormeries, to the ‘Recyclebank’ scheme, used in America, where householders are paid for recycling.
• New powers will be given to councils to introduce local council tax cuts for recycling and green behaviour."

Eric Pickles MP commented:

“Gordon Brown is making it increasingly hard for families to throw away their waste responsibly. Despite soaring levels of council tax, local residents are being hit by cuts to collections, over-zealous use of bin fines and the prospect of expensive new bin taxes which will push up the cost of living. Councils are getting the blame for policies imposed by Whitehall. Conservatives believe that decent rubbish collections are a vital front-line council service to help protect the local environment and public health. We reject Labour’s approach of state bullying, cutting services and higher taxes. We will provide funding for those councils that wish to introduce proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of comprehensive recycling services. We will make it easier for families to go green and increase recycling by working with households, not punishing them with heavy-handed bin taxes, bin cuts and bin fines."

Overfilling your rubbish bin could cost you a larger fine than shoplifting

The Sunday Times reveals that the Government is recommending a fine of £75 to £110 for families who overfill their rubbish bins.  The newspaper notes that this scale of penalty would be "higher than the £80 on-the-spot fines levied by police for offences ranging from being drunk and disorderly to shoplifting".

Eric Pickles told The Sunday Times: “It is clear Whitehall bureaucrats are instructing town halls to target householders with fines for minor breaches. Yet with the slow death of weekly collections and shrinking bins, it is increasingly hard for families to dispose of their rubbish responsibly. It is fundamentally unfair that householders are now getting hammered with larger fines than shoplifters get for stealing.”

No councils have volunteered for Labour's bin tax pilot scheme

The Conservatives have found out that not a single council has volunteered for Labour’s controversial bin tax pilot scheme. Ministers have been pushing for the introduction of bin taxes based on frequency or on weight.

The Labour-dominated Communities & Local Government Select Committee had said in February that it was hard to see why any council would want to "set up a complicated charging scheme that earns it no money and risks widespread public disapproval", so it shouldn't be a surprise.

Brown had reportedly wanted to dump the unpopular policy last autumn, it would have been better for him if he'd been decisive on it. Add this to the promotion of fortnightly collections and bin inspectors/fines and you don't get a very popular approach to household waste. Shadow Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has commented on this latest development:

"This should sound the death knell for bin taxes and bin bureaucracy. However I fear that despite widespread public opposition, bin taxes are still very much alive and kicking as Ministers press ahead with a policy they hope will fill the empty Government coffers.

To add insult to injury Joan Ruddock has made the astonishing admission that bin taxes will push up the cost of living for hard pressed families battling with the credit crunch. Then she admits no one wants them. Will Labour have to roll out more bin tax bribes to persuade councils to implement them?

It is beyond doubt that the only thing bin taxes will do is fuel a surge in fly-tipping and increase backyard burning as people try to dodge paying another of Gordon Brown’s stealth tax."

Labour set to give 'bin men' new reasons not to collect your rubbish

The law has existed for 130 years but The Telegraph reports that a household's right to have its rubbish collected by their local authority is to be scrapped by Labour.

Conservative HQ believe that the change could mean no bin collection if...

"(a) the bin was put out the night before rather than on the morning;
(b) the bin was not on kerbside but was placed inside the garden by a back door;
(c) having a full bin; or
(d) if the recycling boxes had the wrong sort of material in a confusing mix of different boxes."

Eric Pickles MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government, issued this statement:

“Ministers in Whitehall have masterminded the cuts to weekly rubbish collections, over-zealous bin fines and shrinking the size of household bins. Gordon Brown’s bin bullies now want to take the country back to the 19th Century by abolishing councils’ duties to collect rubbish, and give bin men any excuse they want not to collect your bin.

 “It is disgraceful that these new laws are being rushed through Parliament with no debate and no vote. Labour are becoming increasingly obsessed with silencing the voice of the people. Given rubbish collection is one of the most unionised part of local government, I fear that this will give new powers to militant shop stewards to refuse to collect bins for spurious, time-saving reasons.”

“People genuinely want to improve recycling and go green, but Labour’s policy of bin cuts and bin taxes will fuel fly-tipping, backyard burning and harm public health. These changes will fuel the public backlash at the Government’s rubbish policies. Under Gordon Brown, local residents are paying exorbitant levels of council tax, but are failing to get decent public services in return.”

Tory questions unveil infestation danger of fortnightly bin collections

Questions tabled by the Conservatives have forced the Government to reveal the findings of a £27,000 study that warned of increased health risks from rats, flies and seagulls if rubbish collections were reduced in frequency.  The report found that vermin and insects could be "encouraged into the home environment" as a result of fortnightly collections.

Eric Pickles MP, Shadow Local Government Secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph:

"Ministers   have been caught red-handed trying to hide worrying research from the   Government's own scientists. There is a clear health risk from cuts to   weekly rubbish collections, as will become apparent in the summer as   temperatures increase. Under Gordon Brown, local residents are paying exorbitant levels of   council tax but are failing to get decent public services in return. People genuinely want to improve recycling and go green, but Labour's   approach of forcing rubbish cuts is not the answer, as it will harm the   local environment and public health."

Plymouth Conservatives under fire for bin collection questionnaire

Reports in The Daily Mail and Times target Tory-controlled Plymouth council this morning for an "intrusive" questionnaire that it is considering as part of its rubbish collection service.

Plymouth Conservatives are considering asking a minority of the city's households to name an individual who will be responsible for that household's recycling in order to make it possible to then prosecute that person if the household fails to recycle or to properly separate different types of rubbish.  Plymouth's initiative follow an unsuccessful prosecution in Exeter - a prosecution that failed because it was impossible to identify who had been culpable for the 'offence'.

A spokesman for the council told the Plymouth Herald:

"The letter is something we are working on to try to tackle those who consistently ignore the rules, not something we would send to every household.  The letter, which has not yet been approved, is something we were preparing for those who do not heed initial warnings.  We are looking at a questionnaire which would include more detailed questions, such as how many people are in a household and whether they have any medical needs we need to take into account that will enable us to help them rather than prosecute them.  Prosecution would only be used as a last resort, after education and a series of letters. If they consistently ignore all offers of help we will prosecute them using powers under Environmental Protection Act 1990."

Christine Melsom, of the council tax protest group Is It Fair? told the Daily Mail:

"My advice to people who get these letters is to throw them in the bin. Just make sure it's the right bin."

Labour haven't binned rubbish tax plans... they'll return after polling day

The Daily Mail reports documents uncovered by the Conservatives that show that ministers HAVE NOT shelved plans to introduce taxes on household waste but that these taxes could be introduced for 62% of households once tomorrow's elections are over.

Speaking to The Daily Mail, Eric Pickles MP said:

"Ministers know that bin taxes will cause a massive public backlash. Yet, just as with cuts to weekly rubbish collections, they are telling town halls to keep quiet until after elections. The public have a right to know if their town hall is going to increase taxes on them after election day. Labour ministers are deliberately conspiring with a cadre of town hall bureaucrats to keep the public, candidates and councillors in the dark."

Families will be hardest hit by these plans and although the initial annual estimate of the tax was £30, ministers have now admitted that the charge is likelier to be £50.  The Daily Mail suggests that the cost could actually be £100.

Related ConservativeHome link: How council tax has outpaced inflation under Labour and how other local stealth taxes have rocketed