§ 24. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to appoint an expert body to supervise and assess all proposals which may involve sea pollution and to make recommendations.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsAlthough my Department is responsible for the Natural Environment Research Council which deals with scientific aspects of the effects of sea pollution, proposals which may lead to pollution of the sea are for my right hon. Friends the Minister of Housing and Local Government and the Minister of Technology.
§ Mrs. ButlerSince the Bognor Regis sewage controversy has highlighted our lack of knowledge about sea pollution, would my hon. Friend, together with the other Ministers to whom she has referred, examine the machinery for dealing with these matters so that the best brains we have can vet possible future sources of pollution before this menace gets beyond our control?
§ Mrs. WilliamsThe Natural Environment Research Council is looking into the effects of marine pollution, but ad hoc studies of the kind my hon. Friend has in mind are normally undertaken by the Water Pollution Research Laboratory, which is a Ministry of Technology responsibility, so she will appreciate that I cannot commit my right hon. Friend.