There seems to be a strange reluctance amongst Bradford Council bosses to admit there might be an issue with the new waste disposal permit scheme which was brought in earlier this year to almost universal condemnation.

Despite an increase in fly-tipping call-outs and complaints, the Council’s executive member for the environment, Andrew Thornton, insists the new system is working, stating that the volume of fly-tipped waste has actually fallen.

But as one councillor on a scrutiny committee points out, these figures do not include rubbish dumped on private land. And whatever the figures say, there must be an increasing number of people who don’t have their permits to hand, or have forgotten them, and will simply decide that all the inconvenience of sorting that out is not worth the hassle and will just dump their rubbish somewhere else.

It must be stated that there is no excuse whatsoever for fly-tipping, but it was clear even before this scheme was introduced that there are sadly significant numbers of people who show little regard for others and they will see this as further justification for their selfish behaviour.

The Council says it is having the desired effect in stopping people from other districts using the facility, and this will save money.

It would be useful to see figures showing how much of a problem this really was prior to the permit scheme, how much it was costing Bradford, and what those costs actually were.

And we certainly look forward to a full and detailed report, ideally as soon as possible, outlining the amount that has been saved by its introduction.

Unless or until those figures are produced, it is difficult to see it as anything other than yet another level of bureaucracy to overcome in order to carry out an everyday task – and a further excuse for those looking for it to dump their rubbish elsewhere.