2.5 It is important to distinguish between collaborations where authorities share or pass functions from one authority to another using local government law powers ("administrative collaboration"), and collaborations where authorities are entering contractually binding contracts with each other ("contractual collaboration").
2.6 Administrative collaboration can be seen for example, when authorities set up a Joint Committee to exercise functions such as waste collection and and/or disposal jointly.
2.7 Contractual collaboration can be seen, for example, where waste collection authorities in a particular area enter contracts (commonly known as Service Level Agreements ("SLAs")) with the relevant waste disposal authority. The purpose of the SLA is primarily to secure the making available of waste to underpin a long term residual waste disposal contract with the private sector entered into by the waste disposal authority.
2.8 WIDP have prepared a pro-forma SLA which provides a basis for authorities to develop their own project specific SLAs.
2.9 Often administrative collaboration goes hand in hand with contractual collaboration. For example, a well tested set of arrangements for joint working on waste between a number of authorities would see the creation of a Joint Committee (exercising such waste functions as delegated to it by each of the individual authorities) together with a contract between one of the authorities (acting as "lead authority") and the private sector. Alternatively a Joint Committee can be set up to make joint member level decisions coupled with a contract entered into between the private sector and all the participating authorities on a joint and several basis. Where there is a lead authority entering a contract with the private sector, this contract will itself be supported by an inter-authority agreement ("IAA") between all the participating authorities to set out the inter-relationships between them in respect of contractual liabilities and sharing of costs etc. The IAA should always be tailored to reflect individual partnership arrangements.