(2) how much revenue was received from each local authority under the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme in each year since the scheme has been operational.
The Landfill Allowances Trading Scheme (LATS) is not a revenue raising measure. It is a flexible scheme intended to ensure that England meets, as cost effectively as possible, its share of the national limits in the European Union Landfill Directive on landfilling of biodegradable municipal waste.
LATS encourages local authorities with the lowest diversion costs, to landfill less than their allowances permit and sell the surplus to authorities that face higher costs of diversion. Conversely, authorities with higher costs of diversion may prefer to meet their obligations under the scheme by buying allowances at a lower cost than actually undertaking the diversion themselves.
The Government takes account of all the costs of waste management when allocating local government funding. It is the responsibility of each individual local authority to plan its own expenditure. No assessment has been undertaken on the effect of local authority compliance with LATS obligations on other areas of sustainable waste management.
To date no waste disposal authorities have been issued with financial penalties, as all have met their obligations under the scheme.