HC Deb 04 June 1957 vol 571 cc1065-8
29. Mr. Beswick

asked the Minister of Housing arid Local Government whether he has received a progress report from the Committee appointed to co-ordinate research into methods of dealing with problems arising from the discharge of effluent containing detergents; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. H. Brooke

The Committee was appointed in January, and is required by its terms of reference to report at least once a year. No report has yet been submitted.

Mr. Beswick

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that there was a great deal of inquiry even before this Committee started work on this problem. Can he say when we are likely to see any positive, physical result?

Mr. Brooke

The research on which the Committee is engaged and the collating of the material is bound to take a great deal of time. What I am anxious to do is to find a radical cure and not merely to treat the symptoms.

Mr. Jennings

Is my right hon. Friend aware that this problem of the pollution of rivers is a very grave national problem? While I am grateful for the very full answer that he sent me last week in regard to the pollution of the Trent, is he further aware that progress in this matter is very slow? Will he treat the whole question as one of grave national urgency?

Mr. Brooke

Nothing would please me more than to be the Minister who cleaned the rivers, but one thing I am not going to do is to make premature promises of what might not be technically practicable to perform.

Mr. Hastings

Will the Minister ask his Committee to give very careful consideration to the danger of infectious material being blown long distances in the froth produced by detergents?

Mr. Brooke

We have a very highly-qualified technical Committee, and I am quite sure that it will take everything into consideration

35. Mr. Beswick

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware of the continued unsatisfactory condition of the River Colne below Rickmansworth and the River Fray as it flows through Uxbridge; and if, in view of the delay in dealing with the pollution of these rivers, he will take special action to deal with the matter.

Mr. H. Brooke

I understand from the Thames Conservancy, which is the responsible pollution prevention authority, that the River Colne and the loop formed by Fray's River are now in a better state than they have been for some time. The improvement is due to the completion of sewage works extensions by the Colne Valley Sewerage Board, the full effect of which may not yet have been felt.

Mr. Beswick

Is the Minister aware that the Conservancy board is not entirely up to date in this matter and that with the arrival of the warmer weather the problem is recurring again? Will he ask the board to expedite the work in the Colne River and see whether it can do something to clear the Fray of the weeds which are collecting there again this year?

Mr. Brooke

I think that the responsible authorities believe that the position will steadily improve as time goes on, thanks to these new works. The full effects of the new works may possibly not yet be felt, because the sediment deposited earlier in the river may be being disturbed by cleaning operations and it may take some time to disperse.

36. Mr. J. Johnson

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will give a list of the rivers of England and Wales suffering from pollution to an appreciable degree; and what action he proposes taking in this matter.

Mr. H. Brooke

Any discharge into a river which alters the natural quality of the water constitutes pollution, and there are therefore not many rivers in England and Wales which are not polluted at some place or at some time. In the absence of any definition of what constitutes appreciable pollution it is really not practicable to prepare a list on the lines asked for by the hon. Member. Under the Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act, 1951, it is the responsibility of the river board to take action where appropriate in a particular case.

Mr. Johnson

Would the Minister agree that the index of a good atlas would be needed to get a full list of all these stinking rivers? Is it not a fact that many towns with these smelly, polluted rivers in their vicinity wish to expand their sewage works but cannot do so because the right hon. Gentleman's Department will not give them the necessary finance to enable them to do so?

Mr. Brooke

This is in part a matter of finance, but in the case which the hon. Member has in mind the authority concerned is already spending a good deal of money and has embarked on further projects which, I hope, will assist his constituents and his friends.

Mr. Lindgren

Is it not a fact that much of the river pollution could be reduced if local authorities were given permission to go ahead with schemes, which at the moment they are unable to do because of the refusal of loan sanction?

Mr. Brooke

If the country had unlimited resources, there are many good things we could do. I indicated in reply to an earlier question the reputation I would like to get for myself in this matter, to which I attach a great deal of importance.

37. Mr. J. Johnson

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government which angling associations have sent him letters of complaint regarding pollution of the rivers of England and Wales.

Mr. H. Brooke

In all I have had perhaps half-a-dozen letters in the last few months from individual angling associations and from the Anglers Co-operative Association complaining about the condition of rivers in England and Wales, but no separate list of these letters has been kept, and I am afraid that without a great deal of research through a large number of files I could not let the hon. Member have a complete list.

Mr. Johnson

Is the Minister aware that I have had dozens of letters in this connection, many more, apparently, than he has had? Will he confirm that at least half a million anglers are up in arms about this? Will the right hon. Gentleman please do something about it, even to the extent of setting up a commission to consider these rivers which are in such a filthy state?

Mr. Brooke

I pointed out in reply to an earlier Question that the primary responsibility lies with the river board concerned.

Mr. Mitchison

Has the right hon. Gentleman consulted the river boards about this, and with what result? Is it not one of his most important responsibilities to keep every brook clean?

Mr. Brooke

I certainly intend to keep this one clean. However, it is not my duty to be constantly in communication with the river boards in these matters. I rely on the river boards for their co-operative action.