The government is, rightly, receiving a monstering from the papers for its u-turns on weekly bin
collections. But what is at stake here is more than just the issue of bins.
The government’s failure to honour its promise on this matter casts doubt on whether ministers are strong enough and tough enough to impose their will on their departments.
The two ministries dealing with the rubbish question are the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department of Communities and Local Government. Both are run by Conservative Secretaries of State. If this was not enough, both the Secretaries of State involved — Caroline Spelman and Eric Pickles — are personally associated with the Tory policy on bins. So, how on earth did the government’s waste review end up not endorsing weekly collections?
The truth is, colleagues say, that Spelman has been ‘taken over by her officials.’ She has not been able to stand up to DEFRA’s institutional agenda which is opposed to weekly collections.
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