§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of part 3 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 in tackling contaminated land in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [164540]
§ Angela SmithThe provisions of part 3 of the Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 have not yet been brought into operation. In order to do so, it will be necessary to supplement the provisions of part 3 by further policy development and subordinate legislation. Until now priority in the allocation of resources within the Department of the Environment has had to be given to dealing with a backlog of overdue EU directives.
563WHowever, in preparation for the implementation of the forthcoming EU Directive on Environmental Liability, the Department is currently examining the work and resources that will be necessary to bring the statutory contaminated land regime into operation in advance of the directive.