§ Mr. Costainasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what investigations he intends to have undertaken into the issues involved in the provision of adequate supplies of aggregates.
§ Mr. Amery:My Department has completed with other Departments a prelimiminary examination of the complex problems posed by the increasing demand for aggregates. As a result I have concluded that a comprehensive series of studies must be undertaken into the long-term demand for aggregates and their possible sources of supply. These studies will be designed to produce estimates of demand 272W for aggregates for all purposes both nationally and regionally and will be related to expected trends in construction output. An appraisal will also be undertaken of the possible sources of future supply of all types of aggregate both land-won and marine-dredged and investigations will be made of possible methods of using lower-grade materials where they would prove acceptable in order to save high-quality natural aggregate from being wastefully employed. There will also be studies of environmental problems connected with the after-treatment and after-use of land from which natural aggregates have been extracted.
My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales and I also propose to set up an advisory committee to give us its views on aspects of these problems. The chairman and members of this committee and its terms of reference will be announced later.