The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and environmental consultancy firm Ricardo-AEA have launched a joint research project into the effects of budget cuts to local authority waste and local environmental quality services.
The project, due to be published towards the end of 2014, will look at the range of efficiency saving and improvement measures that are being implemented by authorities in areas such as household waste collection scheme design, household waste recycling centres and bring bank provision, and partnership working.
It will also identify any successful initiatives that have delivered significant saving and service improvements, and explore the likely effect of further cuts on services in the future and the wider impact that will have on local communities.
The work will be undertaken through a large-scale survey followed by in-depth qualitative research, including targeted interviews. The research will also seek the views of key organisations in the sector.
Basing future decision-making 'on real evidence and peer experience'
Speaking about the project, CIWM’s Technical Manager Tracy Moffatt said: “Cuts in funding continue to impact upon local government and this study will investigate how local authorities across the UK and Ireland are responding, both now and in the future.”
Ricardo-AEA Practice Director Adam Read added: “It is a pleasure to be working with CIWM as strategic partners on this important and topical issue. So many of our clients have suffered at the hands of budget cutbacks, and have been taking difficult decisions on services, priorities and future procurement routes,”
“We have helped many of them to model the options and to take robust decisions, based on available data wherever possible, but we believe it is time to take stock and learn the lessons so that any future decision-making is based on real evidence and peer experience. We are delighted to be undertaking this assessment as local government across the UK enters the next critical stage of budget cuts and efficiency reviews.”
Read more about CIWM or Ricardo-AEA.
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