Waste Management: Local Authorities

Mr. Clapham
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will require the Health and Safety Executive to provide guidance to local authorities on the most suitable type of waste management treatment facility taking account of the geography and topology of the area and the nearness to residents of the facility.

Jane Kennedy
[holding answer 18 December 2008]: While general guidance has been provided by both bodies, it is not within the remit either of the Health and Safety Executive or the Environment Agency to provide guidance to individual local authorities on what is the suitable type of waste management treatment facility for their area.

Specific guidance for local authorities through Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS10) is also to be taken into account by waste planning authorities and forms part of the national waste management plan for the UK.