§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to improve the quality of rivers over the next four years.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonResponsibility for the control of pollution of rivers lies mainly with the local river purification authorities. The results of the latest survey conducted by the Scottish Development Department in 1985—which my predecessor announced in the House on 25 March 1987, at columns 178–79 — show that overall the quality of Scottish waters continues to be very high and that there have been some marked improvements since the 1980 survey. We are considering what further measures might be taken to maintain these standards as well as to improve the few waters of poor quality.