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• Reference: 2002/0217-1
• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Much of the draft waste strategy, rightly, concentrates on improving recycling rates on some of the worst performing boroughs in London. What incentives are there for Councils already achieving pretty high rates of recycling? .

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Would you not accept though that the majority of the money thus far has, as I say in my question, probably rightly been distributed to the low performing boroughs. What I'm really wanting to get at is what incentive there is for the high performing boroughs, those boroughs who have already made it a priority, actually to receive some reward, some recognition, from the distribution of this money.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Are you telling me then that the priority is not to give the money to low performing boroughs in order to drive them up. Surely, that is the priority.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Would you agree with me that probably the single greatest factor, and there are many factors, but the single greatest factor in what has determined up to now, what is a relatively high and a relatively low performing borough, is actually the political will to do so, and making it a political priority? And if you do agree, then what evidence and what monitoring are you doing to ensure that we get value for money from the significant sums of money now being put into traditionally low performing boroughs, who demonstrably have never made it a priority?

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

I don't doubt the ability of the low performing boroughs to spend money. Indeed, that's a characteristic of many of them. My question was actually about determining whether they're giving value for that money, and how we ensure that by investing in those boroughs that have never shown any interest or any priority for recycling measures, we are actually going to ensure that they spend that money effective and achieve the results we all want them to achieve.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Therefore, if they do not achieve previously agreed targets, they will not get the later tranches of the money that's been announced in the first two or three stages.

• Question by: Graham Tope
• Meeting date: 13 November 2002

Can I just finally, Chair, come back to what the high performing boroughs can do in terms of encouraging and supporting the low performing boroughs. For instance, something like the beacon council issues. Have you considered, and are there measures to encourage the high performing boroughs to work with those low performing boroughs to show them how they, too, can become high performing boroughs?