§ Dr. John A. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what methods and which types of equipment will be used in the series of oil pollution control tests currently being planned by his Department; and if he will make a statement;
(2) which organisations will be involved in the series of oil pollution control tests to be held around the British coastline;
(3) when and where he proposes to arrange the further exercises designed to test the limits of Great Britain's ability to cope with oil pollution around the coast.
§ Mr. OnslowMy Department is proposing to hold three more oil pollution exercises this year, in the Tees and Humber areas in the summer and in the Anglesey/Liverpool Bay area in the autumn. The exercises will be held in co-operation with other Government Departments, including the Ministry of Defence, the Department of the Environment and the Welsh Office, with port and local authorities, including fire, health and police authorities and oil companies as appropriate. They will involve the use of dispersant-spraying ships, coastguard and naval resources and beach-cleaning equipment.
§ Dr. John A. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what conclusions he has drawn from the recently announced exercise to test arrangements for disposing of oil, which was held off the Pembrokeshire coast; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OnslowThis was a joint exercise with the Welsh Office, held in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and local authorities. My Department's primary objectives were to test the facilities at a newly established oil pollution operations base at the St. Ann's Head coastguard station and to exercise and demonstrate the Department's arrangements for dealing with oil which might be released in the event of a shipping casualty off the west coast of Wales. These objectives were achieved and a number of lessons learned, which will be applied as appropriate throughout the United Kingdom.