§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps he will take to safeguard the future of the Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board in the event that regulations detailing the introduction of certificates of technical competence in respect of waste management are not laid before 15 December.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Waste Management Industry Training and Advisory Board is an independent body whose future the Government do not control. My Department's involvement with the board is that of a client. The board was commissioned by the Department to572W prepare a system of certificates of technical competence for the waste industry. That work is largely complete and the Government have proposed to prescribe those certificates as evidence of technical competence for the purposes of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Final regulations will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible, with a view to bringing the system into force on 1 April 1993. The board has represented to Government the importance of early issue of the final regulations if the technical competence system is to be introduced on that date. My officials keep in close contact with the board about the timetable for implementation. Transitional arrangements will he included in the regulations to ensure the orderly introduction of the assessment of technical competence.
§ Mr. BellinghamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will publish the draft waste management guidance note No. 26A on the surrender of licences for landfill sites; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the time taken to publish this draft guidance on the target date for implementing the new licensing scheme.
§ Mr. MacleanDraft guidance on the surrender of site licences will be published as soon as possible. The target date for the implementation of waste management licensing remains 1 April 1993.