§ Mr. Loveysasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement concerning the 15-mile patch of oil seen floating in the English Channel on 17th January this year. which has caused pollution of South Coast beaches.
§ Mr. DarlingI am deeply concerned at the suffering to birds and the damage to beaches caused by this incident. Unfortunately there is no clear evidence of the source of this pollution and therefore no action can be taken against the offender. Reports received by coastguards were conveyed at once to the local authorities concerned.
§ Mr. Loveysasked the President of the Board of Trade what action is taken to deal with oil patches before they reach the beaches.
§ Mr. DarlingWhen coastguards receive information about oil patches offshore, they immediately notify local authorities Whose beaches may be affected so that they may consider what action can be taken. Local authorities are assisted in dealing with offshore pollu-382W tion by the Services as the resources of the latter allow.
My right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government recently announced that a Joint Working Group to find the most efficient and economical means of combating oil pollution on beaches had been set up by the Institute of Petroleum and the local authority associations. The Group will consider all aspects of the problem, including the dispersal of offshore oil, and will report to a Standing Committee composed of representatives of Government Departments, the local authority associations and the Institute of Petroleum.