The Crime, Environment and Transport Scrutiny Commission met to discuss food waste collection, the East London Waste Authority (ELWA) contract re-procurement, and the council's parking strategy. The commission agreed to a number of recommendations, including requesting a report from the Section 151 Officer¹ regarding spending decisions related to food waste collection, and requesting a budget proposal from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) to reconfigure bin stores in council housing. The commission also voted to approve the work programme for the next municipal year, with one objection noted.

Food Waste Collection and ELWA Contract Re-Procurement

The committee discussed the implementation of separate food waste collections, which are required by law under the Environment Act 2021 by 31 March 2026. Councillor John Whitworth, Cabinet Member for Air Quality, Climate Emergency and Environment, introduced the topic, explaining that the council intends to comply with the legislation, and that the scheme aligns with the council's Just Transition plan and Building a Fairer Newham priorities.

Amy Harris, Director of Public Realm, explained that the government has allocated funding for vehicles, containers, and delivery, but has not guaranteed funding for staffing and fuel costs. Because of these funding limitations, the cabinet approved the 'bronze' option, which involves procuring only essential equipment.

The phased rollout of the food waste collection programme is scheduled to begin in late November, initially covering 10% of homes. Street-level properties are expected to be served by September 2026, with communal properties and flats above shops following by February 2027.

Key points raised:

• Bronze vs Gold/Silver Models: Councillor O'Rourne asked about the rationale behind the gold, silver, and bronze models for food waste collection. Lindsay Smith, Head of Policy, Quality and Commissioning, clarified that the bronze option allows the council to meet mandatory requirements, while the gold and silver options included best practices such as bigger housing units for communal sites and caddy liners for residents.
• Performance Measures: Councillor Rachel Tripp, Chair of Strategic Development Committee, inquired about performance measures, particularly regarding households that already compost. It was confirmed that performance measures would account for composting, as it reduces the amount of waste the council collects.
• In-House Service: Councillor Liz Cronin asked why keeping the waste treatment and disposal service in-house was discounted. John Hastings, Head of Strategy for the East London Waste Authority, said he did not have the details, but would seek clarification.
• Bin Housing and Liners: Councillor Nate Higgins, Green Group Leader, raised concerns about the lack of funding for bin housing and the decision not to provide bin liners, questioning whether the council was knowingly creating conditions for theft and fly-tipping. Officers responded that they are working with housing to explore funding options for bin housing and are trying out 20 bin housing units for phase one of the rollout.
• Formal Representations to DEFRA: Councillor Joshua Garfield, Scrutiny Commission Chair, asked whether the council had made formal representations to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) regarding the shortcomings of the legislation, particularly the restrictive nature of the funding. Officers confirmed that Councillor Ali had written to DEFRA to explain the difficulties, but had only received a response thanking them for their comments.
• Green Book Compliance: Councillor Terence Paul asked for assurance that the methodology for the ELWA project was compliant with the current Government Green Book² rules.
• Bin Store Refitting: Councillor Paul also highlighted the struggle to collect waste from council blocks and asked whether a detailed proposal had been made to the HRA to reconfigure bin stores.
• Composting Campaign: Councillor Paul suggested that it would be cheaper to encourage residents to compost and asked why an information campaign had not been conducted. Officers responded that they have had a programme of waste production for a number of years, partnering with Nutrition Kitchen to deliver food production workshops.
• Foxes: Councillor Tripp asked how the council would secure food waste bins against foxes. Officers responded that the bins would be lockable and that residents would be advised to put the bins inside their wheelie bins on collection day.
• Weekly Bin Collection: Councillor Onovo asked for a commitment on whether the council was considering reducing residual waste collection from weekly to fortnightly.
• 70% Coverage: Councillor Higgins asked for a commitment that the council would not only deliver a food waste service to 70% of the borough, as that would not be compliant with the law.
• DEFRA Funding: Councillor Onovo asked how much of the no burdens capital funding allocation had been spent already.
• Food Caddies: Councillor Onovo asked why the council had taken the decision to buy everyone a food caddy, rather than asking people to get their own.
• Breaking the Law: Councillor Higgins asked what the penalty would be for breaking the law on food waste collection.
• Risk Register: Councillor Higgins recommended that the audit committee consider looking at the risk register for the food waste collection programme.
• Notification to DEFRA: Councillor Higgins recommended that the council immediately notify DEFRA that it intends to not comply with the law on food waste collection.
• 100% Coverage: Councillor Higgins recommended that the council provide funding as part of the next budget process to ensure 100% coverage of the food waste collection service.
• Management Companies: Councillor Higgins recommended that the council contact the big management companies for the high height blocks that it does not own to ensure that they provide space for the bins.
• Waste Champions: Councillor Higgins recommended that the council recruit waste champions to push out the message about food waste collection.
• Council Tax Bills: Councillor Paul recommended that the council use the council tax bills to inform people about the five streams of waste and about food waste collection.
• Results of Phase One: Councillor Tripp asked that the results of phase one of the food waste collection programme be shared.
• Department's Response to Letters: Councillor Tripp asked to see the department's response to the letters that have gone to them in request.
• Final Strategy: Councillor Garfield asked to see the final strategy in terms of what is achievable at our recommendations and what is not ahead of its decision.

Decisions and Recommendations:

• The committee requested that the Section 151 Officer write to them about how they have made decisions around the food waste collection programme to ensure that spending follows the law.
• The committee requested that a budget proposal be worked up from housing for each of our blocks, high and low rise, for every single refuge store is reconfigured.
• The committee requested that the full costings of the silver and gold options for food waste collection be provided.
• The committee recommended that a chunk of the communications budget be spent on encouraging residents to compost.
• The committee requested an answer in writing on whether the council is considering reducing residual waste collection from weekly to fortnightly.
• The committee recommended that Audit consider looking at the risk register for the food waste collection program.
• The committee recommended that the council immediately notify DEFRA that it intends to not comply with the law on food waste collection.
• The committee recommended that the council provide funding as part of the next budget process to ensure 100% coverage of the food waste collection service.
• The committee recommended that the council contact the big management companies for the high height blocks that it does not own to ensure that they provide space for the bins.
• The committee recommended that the council recruit waste champions to push out the message about food waste collection.
• The committee recommended that the council use the council tax letter to really use this for information.
• The committee requested that the results of phase one of the food waste collection programme be shared.
• The committee requested to see the department's response to the letters that have gone to them in request.
• The committee requested to see the final strategy in terms of what is achievable at our recommendations and what is not ahead of its decision.

Parking Strategy

The committee then discussed the council's parking strategy. Michael Benn, Director of Highways, Parking & Transportation, introduced the item, explaining that the core aim of the strategy is to manage parking, improve air quality, and reduce carbon emissions.

Key points raised:

• Revenue vs. Sustainability: Councillor Onovo asked whether the parking strategy was more about revenue or sustainability. Officers responded that the pricing is about driving change, not about driving revenue.
• Fairness: Councillor Tripp raised concerns about resident perceptions of fairness in parking enforcement, particularly regarding vehicle removals and alleged corruption. Councillor Carleene Lee-Phakoe echoed these concerns. Officers responded that they are trying to pivot removals to focus on vehicles that cause obstruction and are working to improve the fairness of the enforcement system.
• Removal Statistics: Councillor Higgins noted that Newham has the largest removal service in London and asked whether this was because the council has been overzealous in the past. Officers responded that it has been insufficiently targeted and that they are working to address that.
• Tiered Removals: Councillor Higgins suggested that the council tier removals based on the severity of the offense.
• Private Corruption: Councillor Falola asked whether it was possible to investigate allegations of private corruption. Officers responded that they will always investigate specific allegations and that they require civil enforcement officers to record all interactions with the public.
• Surplus: Councillor Higgins asked about the parking surplus and how it is spent. Femi Ogden, head of finance for EST, responded that the surplus is used to fund eligible expenditure, such as school crossing patrols, road maintenance, and freedom passes.
• Enforcement of Private Garages: Councillor Paul asked about the enforcement of private garages that are not paying to park. Officers responded that they are working with community safety colleagues to try to tighten up their approach to this issue.
• Workplace Parking Levy: Councillor Higgins asked whether the council was considering a workplace parking levy. Officers responded that they have no present plans to look at a workplace parking levy.
• Size-Based Parking: Councillor Higgins asked about size-based parking. Officers responded that they are not able to do weight-based parking because the DVLA does not provide the data.
• PCN Appeals: Councillor Higgins noted that there is a feeling that people cannot appeal PCNs because they have a discount period and if they appeal, they are effectively gambling half the cost of the PCN. Officers responded that they do re-offer the discount if someone appeals and they find that there is not sufficient grounds to cancel.
• Air Quality Targets: Councillor Paul asked for clearer air quality targets, revenue targets, and car reduction targets.
• Stratford Car Park: Councillor Paul noted that the Stratford car park is an underused resource.

Decisions and Recommendations:

• The committee recommended that the council implement size and/or weight-based parking and a workplace parking levy.

Work Programme

The committee voted to approve the work programme for the next municipal year, with one objection noted. Councillor Sarah Ruiz, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education & Sustainable Transport, noted that Councillor Whitworth should be listed as the lead member in the work programme, not Councillor Ali Down.