Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill

I thank the noble Lord for that intervention. Perhaps I should remind noble Lords that joint waste authorities are only one of a whole range of waste collection and disposal possibilities for local authorities. It is a narrow and particular route that authorities might want to adopt. I can imagine that if one authority in a particular area will not join in with the others, even though there are obvious efficiencies and benefits in doing so, that would be incredibly frustrating. But this part of the Bill will not help in that situation because we are talking about a voluntary process here. I am no expert on this but, if there is a real issue of failure in an area, there are other local authority performance management structures to examine or avenues to take in order to deal with the problem. Here we are talking about a positive proposal, but it is not one that would deal with the kind of circumstance described by the noble Lord. That is for a different discussion. This proposal for joint waste authorities has been welcomed. The details are being put in place through regulations and the making of orders to establish these new legal entities. The Secretary of State then has safeguarding powers, a point that the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, was concerned about, to ensure that, if a new entity were to fail, the Secretary of State could step in and wind it up. With those safeguards in place, it is a positive proposal, but it is not a panacea for all waste collection and disposal issues.