§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether all proposals for waste incinerators in the United Kingdom are subjected to the full range of environmental assessment as required by Community law.
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Baroness Blatch)Directive 85/337/EEC on environmental assessment has been implemented in England and Wales for projects that require applications for planning permission by the Town and Country Planning (Assessment of Environmental Effects Regulations 1988. Similar Regulations apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Under all those regulations, and in accordance with the directive, proposed new installations for the incineration of special waste are required to be subject to environmental assessment in every case. Also in accordance with the directive, proposed modifications of installations for the incineration of special waste and proposed new or modified installations for the incineration of other waste, not being special waste, are subject to environmental assessment where the proposal is likely to have significant effects on the environment by virtue of factors such as its nature, size or location.