Food: Waste Disposal
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much new burdens funding she plans to allocate for food waste collections; and if she will (a) allocate that funding based on costs incurred by WCAs and (b) apply the New Burdens Doctrine in full.
Answered by Mary Creagh
We have invested over £340 million to support waste collection authorities on weekly food collections. While local authorities will have the flexibility to deliver these reforms in the best way for their council areas and residents, we still expect them to take all reasonable steps to meet their statutory obligations.
Previous capital and transitional funding were allocated and published by Defra. As confirmed in the outcome of the Spending Review 2025, ongoing resource funding for food waste services from 1 April 2026 will be included in the Local Government Finance Settlement, rather than as a separate new burdens grant.
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