§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what prosecutions have taken place to date of companies failing to apply for authorisations under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in the fields of(a) incineration, (b) glass and ceramic manufacture, (c) timber processing and (d) dye production.
§ Mr. MacleanHer Majesty's inspectorate of pollution has prosecuted one company for operating a timber treatment process without being authorised to do so under part I of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Information about prosecutions by local authorities under part I of the Act broken down by category of process regulated is not routinely collected and could be obtained now only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the level of awareness by companies of the duty of care requirements under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
§ Mr. MacleanThe Government conducted a substantial publicity campaign on the duty of care on its introduction in April 1992. This was well received and more than a million copies of a free explanatory leaflet, which is still available, were distributed to trade associations and companies. The Department employed MORI to review the effectiveness of this and other publicity campaigns. The results of its survey, carried out in December 1992, showed overall high levels of awareness of information on the duty of care. It was clear that awareness was greater among waste disposers than among waste producers. Subsequently, companies have become more aware of the requirements on inquiry from their waste disposal contractors and local authorities.