HC Deb 31 January 1996 vol 270 cc789-90W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the amount of land officially designated as contaminated land which is owned by British Gas plc; and if he will list all such land. [12616]

Mr. Clappison

[holding answer 30 January 1996]: At present, there is no statutory system in force for designating contaminated land. When section 57 of the Environment Act 1995 is implemented, it will provide a statutory definition of contaminated land and procedures for its identification.

Mr. Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what amount of money has been notified to his Department as having been spent by British Gas plc in the decontamination of land within its ownership in each financial year since privatisation. [12614]

Mr. Clappison

[holding answer 30 January 1996]: British Gas plc has not notified the Department how much it has spent in the decontamination of land within its ownership since privatisation.

Mr. Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the total spending contribution towards the decontamination of land within British Gas plc's ownership by(a) local authorities, (b) the Department of the Environment, (c) English Partnerships (d) the European Union and (e) other public bodies in each financial year since privatisation. [12615]

Mr. Clappison

[holding. answer 30 January 1995]: When the Department of the Environment contributes to the costs of decontamination of land, this is normally only one element of a wider package of support for individual reclamation or redevelopment projects. Central records do not exist of the amounts of the various different cost elements.

English Partnerships has not spent any money on decontamination of land within British Gas plc's ownership since its privatisation.

The Department does not systematically collect information on spending on decontamination of land by local authorities, the European Union or other public bodies.