North London Waste Authority (NLWA) Statement on Governance Arrangements

NLWA (the Authority) is today announcing temporary provisions for its governance arrangements in light of the developing situation around COVID-19/coronavirus. 

Following the most recent Government instruction that – except for essential travel - people should stay at home to limit the spread of COVID-19, the meeting of the Authority scheduled for 2 April 2020 will not go ahead. As a joint waste authority, covering seven London boroughs, any meeting of the Authority requires Members and supporting officers to travel through north London to get to the meeting place.

Under normal circumstances, key Authority decisions are taken by Members in meetings set up formally, in compliance with the Local Government Act 1972, and must be held in person, not by telephone or online. The Government has provided for the possibility of online meetings in its emergency legislation (Coronavirus Act 2020), and once necessary regulations are made, the Authority will consider whether and how to implement such meetings. Pending such regulation, decisions of the Authority must be taken by an officer in compliance with the Authority’s Standing Orders. The Authority is following this approach to ensure that work can continue during this period and that the Authority can meet its statutory duty to dispose of the waste collected by the seven north London boroughs.

Authority Members will be consulted on decisions that need to be made about Authority business and activities within a set timeframe. The information on which a decision will be made will be circulated to Members by email in report format. This approach reflects the normal way reports are circulated to members in advance of Authority meetings.

A more detailed account of these temporary governance provisions is available in the this link.