LAWR

AUSTERITY REPORT Trouble on the frontline? he precise figures may vary from across the UK and Ireland, but most local authorities (LAs) share a common goal these days – delivering efficiency savings and making the most of tight budgets. With spending shrinking to 1930s levels in some cases, many services have already been feeling the squeeze and as the third largest area of budget spend, waste has not been exempt. In an attempt to gauge the level of impact so far and the response, as well as the outlook for the future, CIWM and Ricardo-AEA have attempted to map what innovations and efficiency saving measures local authorities are deploying and planning to deploy. The report, published last month and entitled 'Waste on the frontline – chal- lenges and innovations', is based on an online survey. It captures feedback from 226 local authority officers responsi- ble for waste, recycling and street cleans- ing at 183 authorities, as well as 105 organisations working with authorities to deliver these services. It also includes a number of case studies. Key survey results Overall, 69% of respondents reported budget cuts related to austerity measures and 28% said that cuts were due to chang- ing council priorities, with a further 16% facing a budget freeze. A similar pattern emerged when respondents were asked how budgets might be impacted in the next five years. Compared to other local authority services areas, 35% believe they have faced similar cuts in the last four years and expect this to be the same in the future. 29% reported greater cuts than other departments, although the number that expected this to be the case in the future dropped to 23%. The survey found that a range of meas- ures are being taken to deliver efficiency savings, and two of the most common strands to emerge were some form of partnership working (70%) and automa- tion of both customer contact services and back office systems (43% and 38% respectively). Unsurprisingly, communi- cations and awareness raising have taken a hit, with 48% and 39% respectively reporting a reduction in communica- tions budgets and school education pro- grammes related to waste and recycling. The most common operational chang- es related to collection included ration- alisation of collection rounds (58%) and bring bank provision (45%), charging for bulky waste collections (46%), extending vehicle and equipment life (49%) and renegotiation of contracts (44%). Pressure on street cleansing budgets, meanwhile, has seen many of the respondents reduc- ing the frequency of cleansing in low- priority and other areas. Among the local authorities who pro- vided HWRCs, efforts to reduce costs have focused around reduced opening hours (59%), although a significant 30% reported actual or planned closure of sites in the future. On a more positive note, 63% of respondents are implementing or are planning to implement re-use ini- tiatives (both to increase diversion and as an income-generator), and many are looking at new ways of tackling illegal trade waste. Renegotiation of contracts was a recur- ring favourite when it came to treatment 6 Local Authority Waste & Recycling March 2015 T A joint CIWM/Ricardo-AEA report into the impact of austerity on local authority waste collection and cleansing services has recently been published and it highlights plenty of innovation and efficiency savings. But CIWM's chief executive Steve Lee asks whether these savings will be enough in the face of continued budget constraints in the future. A joint CIWM/Ricardo-AEA report into the impact of austerity on local authority waste collection and cleansing services has recently been published and it highlights plenty of innovation and efficiency savings. But CIWM's chief executive Steve Lee asks whether these savings will be enough in the face of continued budget constraints in the future. Trouble on the frontline?

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