§ 79. Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of investment in measures to combat marine pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ 58. Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the current level of investment in measures to combat marine pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyInvestment to combat marine pollution is undertaken by a very wide range of public 689W agencies, private businesses and individuals such as farmers and landowners. There is no central record bringing together all this expenditure.
Rivers are usually the most important source of contaminants entering the sea. Expenditure by water authorities and their equivalents, and by industry, on improving treatment processes and achieving stricter discharge limits have brought major improvements to water quality. For example expenditure by water authorities on improved sewerate and sewage treatment facilities on the major rivers and estuaries discharging into the North sea will total £600 million by 1990. For the Mersey basin, a £4,000 million campaign was set up in 1983 spread over 25 years, of which £2,500 million will be spent on improving water quality.
Other examples include expenditure by industry, with the advice of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, on reducing dangerous substances in emissions to air, and in finding alternatives to the dumping of waste at sea.