§ 14. Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take arising from the fourth report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.
§ Mr. CroslandI shall be writing to the Chairman of the Royal Commission shortly giving my detailed views on the report. In view of the wide interest in the matters covered by this report, I intend to publish the text of my reply along with other material summarising the action taken in response to the first four reports of the commission.
§ Mr. HooleyI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Has his attention been drawn to paragraph 143 of the report, which points out that some Western European countries are more ambitious than we are in the removal of lead additive from petrol? Will he have a private chat with his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy on this point?
§ Mr. CroslandI have indeed had a private chat. The question of lead in petrol is one of the most controversial, not merely environmentally but scientifically, in the whole aspect of environmental pollution. I am aware of the problem, and I hope to say something about it in my reply to the chairman.