HC Deb 08 December 1971 vol 827 c1283
19. Mr. Cormack

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will confer with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and local authorities with a view to launching a national reclamation campaign designed to clear all the nation's industrial waste land during the next 10 years.

Mr. Graham Page

Close touch is maintained with the Department of Trade and Industry and the local authorities. A vigorous reclamation drive is well under way, with the aim of clearing existing problems in the priority areas within 10 years.

Mr. Cormack

I thank my hon. Friend for that encouraging reply, but will he make sure that a firm target date is fixed and that maximum publicity is given to this problem?

Mr. Page

If local authorities not within priority areas wish to undertake an energetic and systematic scheme, we shall give them all the help and encouragement that resources will permit.