§ LORD O'HAGANasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there are any controls over the dumping of chemicals and industrial wastes from ships at sea inside and outside our territorial waters; and if so, how they are applied.
§ LORD BESWICKWithin the three-mile limit, control in England and Wales is exercised by local sea fisheries committee which have power under the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966, and previously under earlier legislation, to make bylaws to prohibit or regulate the deposit or discharge of substances detrimental to sea fish or sea fishing. Of the eleven sea fisheries committees, two entirely prohibit such discharges and deposits, and the remainder permit them only if the consent of the committee has been obtained.
Outside the three-mile limit the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food operates voluntary arrangements under which industrial firms and others consult the Ministry before dumping. The Ministry evaluates applications for their effect on fisheries and agrees suitable methods and places for dumping.
For Scotland, voluntary arrangements operate both within and outside the three-mile limit.