HC Deb 29 July 1988 vol 138 cc814-5W
Mr. Teddy Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) if he has reviewed the consents given to the Anglian water authority in December 1986 to discharge sewage into the estuary after 31 December 1987, in terms of the permission given; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what recent advice he has had from the Thames water authority about the quality of bathing water in Southend-on-Sea; and if he will make a statement;

(3) if he will review his decision of December 1986 about the treatment of sewage by the Anglian water authority in the Southend area; and if he will make a statement;

(4) what advice he has had from the Anglian water authority about the delays in the construction to the extended outfall in Southend-on-Sea; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Moynihan

[holding answer 28 July 1988]: I will write to my hon. Friend.

Ms. Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what measures he will take to ensure that all sewage treatment works meet the requisite effluent discharge standards; what proposals he has to encourage water authorities to make the necessary financial investment; whether the Government will relax controls on water authority capital expenditure in order to stimulate the necessary investment; and whether he will impose a deadline on discharge standards being met;

(2) if he will list for each year since 1974, by water authority, the percentage of sewage treatment works that have failed to meet their effluent discharge standards;

(3) if he will state the number of occasions on which he has reviewed the effluent discharge standards laid upon specific water authority sewage treatment works; and for how many works the effluent discharge standards were relaxed following review;

(4) if he will, by water authority region, list the names of those water authority sewage treatment works that failed to meet their effluent discharge standards in 1987, the measures that are proposed for each of these works to bring them up to standard, and the year by which it is anticipated that they will have been brought up to standard.

Mr. Moynihan

[holding answer 28 July 1988]: I shall write to the hon. Member.