§ Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement on the action which he is taking to achieve the co-ordination of policy by the relevant local authorities and other organisations to overcome the problem of polluted matter trapped in the Solent.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsOil pollution in the Solent is dealt with by the county and county borough councils in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry. In other respects pollution of the Solent is primarily a matter for the Hampshire River Authority and the Isle of Wight River and Water Authority. I understand that there is regular consultation between them on proposals by local authorities to construct new or altered outlets for the discharge of sewage and other effluents to the Solent, which is a "controlled water" under the Clean Rivers (Estuaries and Tidal Waters) Act, 1960. Under present proposals, requiring legislation, the Solent is likely to come under the control of one regional water authority in April, 1974. More generally, the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution is conducting a general inquiry into the problems of pollution in tidal waters, estuaries and inshore seas; and, as my right hon. Friend announced yesterday the Government share the opinion of the working party on sewage disposal that full control of discharges should be extended to tidal rivers and estuaries, and that protection of the sea needs to be improved.