We are working very closely with other departments, including the Cabinet Office and the Department for Work and Pensions, to simplify free school meals criteria under universal credit, while ensuring that free lunches continue to be available to the families who need them most. These discussions, which include consideration of a phased implementation timetable, are in recognition of the significant number and complexity of passported benefits across Government, most of which have different eligibility criteria.<\/p>
We will allow good time to enable schools, local authorities and children's charities to comment on our proposals before we introduce new entitlement criteria for free school meals under universal credit.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1473", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr David Laws"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Yeovil"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Mr David Laws"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-02-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-02-26T12:00:00.00Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : ""} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : ""} , "date" : {"_value" : "2013-05-08", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to consult on eligibility for free school meals ahead of the introduction of universal credit.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/394", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Mr Clive Betts"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Sheffield South East"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Mr Clive Betts"} ], "uin" : "153906"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/34720", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Communities and Local Government"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/34720/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
<\/p>
Labour's legacy<\/em><\/p> The last Labour Government had a policy of actively pushing fortnightly bin collections and hitting hard-working families with new bin charges.Their \u2018Household Waste Prevention Policy Side Research Programme' advocated \u201ccollection limitations in terms of rubbish bin size or the interval between collections\u201d, and sought to \u201cnationalise this policy among local authorities\u201d. Cutting weekly rubbish collections was not a locally-led initiative, but an explicit Whitehall mission pursued with the zeal of a convert.<\/p> Legislation in 2005 allowed the introduction of bin fines for minor breaches of complex and confusing bin rules; further legislation in 2008 watered down councils' legal duties to collect rubbish. Guidance issued in 2005 advised town halls that councillors should be bullied to stop them opposing the axing of collections or proposing to restore weekly collections. It also recommended that cutting collections should be done after local elections \u2013 to avoid the nuisance of democratic opposition. The Government funded the covert imposition of \u201cbin brother\u201d microchips into families' bins. The 2009 Pre-Budget Report made clear that a further wave of bin cuts were being planned. In short, the \u201cTown Hall Talibin\u201d doubled council tax and halved bin collections.<\/p> We disagree. This Government believes that households deserve a frequent and comprehensive rubbish and recycling service in return for the £122 a month in council tax that a typical household pays (Band D), especially given the typical refuse collection service only costs councils £6 to £7 per month to provide.<\/p> What we've done<\/em><\/p> We have taken a series of steps to help households:<\/p> <\/p> · Issued the first ever Whitehall guidance on weekly bin collections, demolishing the myths that fortnightly bin collections are needed to save money or increase recycling;<\/p> <\/p> · Stopped the Audit Commission inspections which marked down councils who do not adopt fortnightly rubbish collections, and rejected the Audit Commission guidance which advocated fortnightly collections (Waste Management: The Strategic Challenge<\/em> and Waste Management Quick Guide<\/em>).<\/p> <\/p> · Abolished the Local Area Agreements and National Indicator 191 imposed by Whitehall which created perverse incentives to downgrade waste collection services;<\/p> <\/p> · Scrapped the Whitehall requirement for municipal Annual Efficiency Statements, which allowed a reduction in the frequency of a household rubbish collection service to qualify as a \u201cvalid efficiency\u201d and allowed revenue from bin fines to classed as a \u201ccashable efficiency gain\u201d;<\/p> <\/p> · Scrapped the imposition of eco-towns which would have had fortnightly bin collections and/or bin taxes as part of the \u201ceco-standards\u201d;<\/p> <\/p> · Safeguarded weekly collections for 6 million households through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme as well as championing innovation and best practice;<\/p> <\/p> · Supported over 40 innovative reward schemes to back recycling through the Weekly Collection Support Scheme (as pledged in the Coalition Agreement);<\/p> <\/p> · Through the Localism Act, revoked the 2008 legislation that allowed for the imposition of new bin taxes;<\/p> <\/p> · Issued guidance to stop the imposition of illegal \u2018backdoor bin charging' on households bins;<\/p> <\/p> · Stopped funding the \u2018Waste Improvement Network' which told councils to adopt fortnightly collections as best practice;<\/p> <\/p> · Challenged the incorrect interpretation by some bodies that European Union directives require fortnightly collections, and resisted the imposition of bin taxes by the European Union;<\/p> <\/p> · Removing powers of entry and snooping powers from \u201cBinquisition\u201d inspectors and scrapped guidance telling councils to rifle through families' bins;<\/p> <\/p> · Changing building regulations to tackle \u2018bin blight'; and<\/p> <\/p> · Changing the law through the Deregulation Bill to scrap unfair bin fines.<\/p> In short, this has been a fundamentally different approach from the Labour Government: we are working with families to help them go green, but believe in proper, regular and comprehensive collections for taxpaying households.<\/p> The configuration of services is complex. The table below, based on available estimates from WRAP, provide the most detailed information held on the breakdown of refuse and recycling collections of \u2018smelly' rubbish across councils in England.<\/p> Weekly collections of smelly rubbish<\/em><\/p> <\/p>