§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the successive estimates given by his Department of the cost of ending sewage sludge dumping in Britain, together with the names of the external consultants employed to assist with the preparation of such estimates.
§ Mr. YeoThe Department said in October 1990 in evidence to the House of Lords Committee on the European Communities, that the initial estimate was of the order of £200 million. In the document "Paying for Quality" published by the Director General for Water Services in July 1993 an estimate of capital costs of around £440 million was given. Further estimates are now being made by the sewerage undertakers in preparation for their submissions to the director general in the context of the current periodic review of price limits.