§ 5. Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has had any recent indications of increased levels of nitrate pollution in public water supplies.
§ Mr. GowThe Royal Society's report "The Nitrogen Cycle of the United Kingdom" which has just been published confirms that nitrate levels are increasing in some surface and groundwaters. This can affect nitrate levels in some public water supplies. My Department is considering that report.
§ Mr. TaylorAs the report says that a major contributory factor to the further rise in already worrying nitrate levels is the massive increase in the use of nitrate fertilisers by farmers, is my hon. Friend willing to have urgent talks with the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to see what steps can be taken to improve the situation? How on earth can it be sensible for us to spend millions of pounds importing fertilisers to produce more and more cereals which no one wants to buy?
§ Mr. GowI shall draw the attention of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the point about the production of cereals. With regard to the first part of my hon. Friend's question, I agree that a contributory factor to the problem to which he has drawn attention is the increasing use of nitrogen. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and my Department are considering a code of practice which could be issued to help solve the problem.
§ Mr. SpearingAs the hon. Gentleman is a Minister at the Department of the Environment, is it not his responsibility, first, to lay down pollution levels for our inland waters to ensure that the public water supply to which he has referred is not polluted, and secondly, to ensure that other persons, including farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, keep within those limits?