Waste Disposal: Birmingham
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has provided additional (a) funding and (b) other resources to councils bordering Birmingham to help tackle additional fly-tipping resulting from bin strikes in Birmingham.
Answered by Jim McMahon
The government has been working intensively with Birmingham City Council in relation to the ongoing disruption in its waste service. While the response is being locally led by the Council as is appropriate, at their request, we have deployed operational and logistical expertise to help address the backlog of waste on Birmingham’s streets.
This backlog presented real risks to public health, particularly for the most vulnerable. As a result of concerted and ongoing effort by Birmingham City Council, and with the support of other local authorities, we are pleased that the large accumulations of street waste in badly affected areas have been removed and that levels are approaching normal, and this is under daily review.
The residents of Birmingham need to see a fair and sustainable resolution to this dispute, and we continue to encourage both parties to come to a negotiated settlement that ensures a fit-for-purpose waste service and does not risk the important progress made on equal pay at BCC.
Verbatim has judged this answer against the question that was actually asked — answered, partly answered, or evaded. Sign in to see the verdict →