West Lothian\u2019s council leader says he expects Holyrood to pay up when it comes to covering the cost\u00a0of brown\u00a0bins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Labour\u2019s Lawrence Fitzpatrick responded after the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that it will be at least 2027 before a\u00a0decision is\u00a0made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Garden waste collection is not a statutory duty for councils.\u00a0 Most cash- strapped authorities have introduced\u00a0 \u00a0charges to households to uplift garden waste. In West Lothian it costs \u00a352 a year. It is much higher in\u00a0some other\u00a0authorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0Councillor\u00a0Fitzpatrick told the LDRS: \u201cIf the service is made statutory, then we could expect the Scottish Government to \u2018compensate\u2019 us for loss of income.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cNobody wanted to introduce charges for garden waste collections, but they are non-statutory\u00a0services\u00a0and the service\u00a0has to\u00a0be funded somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of Scotland\u2019s 32 local\u00a0authorities 24, or 75% of councils charge for garden waste, with others considering introducing a charge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is worth noting that because councils are not required by law to collect garden waste, unlike food waste, we do not receive any funding from the Scottish Government for this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0shouldn\u2019t\u00a0forget, the income generated\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0profit \u2013 it is used to pay for the collection service. This is why\u00a0the vast majority of\u00a0Scottish councils have garden waste charges\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The LDRS reported\u00a0that,\u00a0while the introduction of the charge in 2024 was greeted with fury by householders, unions\u00a0representing\u00a0council staff welcomed it as the first significant investment in waste collection services in years, because it would protect jobs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillor\u00a0Fitzpatrick added: \u201cThe Scottish Government has cut \u00a3184 million from our budget since 2007.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The council leader added:\u00a0\u00a0\u201c75% of council funding is now ring-fenced for Scottish Government policies, so we have hardly any room for\u00a0manoeuvre\u00a0as we try to navigate our way through the Scottish Government\u2019s massive cuts to councils.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Livingston Conservative\u00a0councillor\u00a0Alison Adamson asked the question earlier this month when and if the government would start to cover the cost of garden waste uplift\u00a0and permits\u00a0would no longer be needed.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The promise had been widely touted when the bin charge was first\u00a0introduced in\u00a0the county more than a year ago\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government told the LDRS that a review of waste collection charges was under way and\u00a0is\u00a0 set\u00a0to be completed by\u00a0the end\u00a0of 2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A decision on charges, and whether to make garden waste collection a statutory requirement- therefore funded by Holyrood- is expected in 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By Stuart Sommerville, Local Democracy Reporter\u00a0<\/p>\n