§ Mr. Laurance Reedasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what topics were covered at the recent meeting of European pollution ministers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsA meeting of European Environment Ministers was held in Bonn on 31st October at the invitation of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. Against the background of the conclusions of the summit meeting of Heads of Government concerning the development of a Community environmental policy and the establishment by 31st July, 1973, of an action programme, the meeting agreed a series of principles of environmental policy and a number of priority actions. These and other decisions were recorded in an agreed communiqué, of which I have placed copies in the Library. I believe that this meeting made a useful contribution to the objective of creating a Community environmental policy.
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§ Mr. Laurance Reedasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration he is giving to the minority opinion in the Third Report of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution that the present regulatory system used to control river pollution should be replaced by a pricing system.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsMy Department is already giving thought to circumstances in which pricing might be a more efficient form of pollution control than regulations, and in this context is studying closely the views on control of water pollution expressed in the minority report.