§ Mr. BellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the impact on dealing with emergencies of the regionalisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe inspectorate has no general responsibility for dealing with emergencies.
398WHowever, one of the objectives of the proposed reorganisation is to increase the effectiveness of the inspectorate across the whole range of its activities, which includes for example the control of emissions from scheduled processes and discharges from premises subject to the Radioactive Substances Act 1960.
Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution's responsibility for dealing with the consequences in the United Kingdom of overseas nuclear accidents remains as set out in the Department of the Environment publication "The National Response Plan and Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET)—a Statement of Proposals", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. BellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what impact his proposed structural changes to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will have on the county of Cleveland; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what impact the regionalisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution will have on the county of Cleveland; by what extent field work will be reduced as a result of increased travelling; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyCleveland will be the responsibility of the Northern region of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution, based in Leeds. The detailed working arrangements that are being drawn up for each region are being designed to facilitate the integration of pollution control, and thus increase the effectiveness of the inspectorate.
§ Mr. BellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what proposals he has to place Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution on a regional basis; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what structural changes he proposes to make to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyProposals are being developed for the reorganisation of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution in order to integrate its responsibilities for air pollution control, radioactive substances, water pollution and other wastes on a regional basis.
Three regions are being established to cover the North, South West and South East. This approach was adopted to ensure sufficiently large management units to secure an adequate mix of skills.