§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Transport how many vessels were prosecuted for illegally discharging oil in United Kingdom territorial waters in 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86; and what was the average fine levied in each year.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe last three years for which figures are available detailing vessels prosecuted for illegally discharging in United Kingdom territorial waters are:
Year Number of prosecutions undertaken Convictions Average fine levied £ 1983 19 19 2,488 1984 13 13 1,709 1985 11 10 2,150
§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent in 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85 and 1985–86, on (a) capital investment in and (b) operating costs of Her Majesty's Government's marine pollution control unit.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThe marine pollution control unit was set up in 1979. The costs incurred by the unit since then have been:
£ thousand (a) Capital expenditure (b) Current expenditure1 1979–80 920 319 1980–81 592 126 1981–82 922 183 1982–83 480 1,222 1983–84 271 1,284 1984–85 323 1,459 1985–86 312 1,528 1 Operating costs. The large increase in current expenditure from 1982–83 reflects the introduction of a dedicated aerial spraying and surveillance capability in 1982.