§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether, in view of the continued menace of oil pollution on the South Coast beaches, he will engage in urgent consultations with other Governments to devise methods to control the discharge of oil into the English Channel.
§ Mr. BlakerI can assure my hon. Friend that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is frequently in consultation with other Governments on ways of reducing oil pollution of the sea. These consultations are mostly under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organisation which last autumn concluded a new comprehensive international convention.322W When this comes into force internationally it will effectively ban deliberate polluting discharges from ships and, by dealing with their construction, help to reduce discharges from tankers if they collide or run aground. To reduce the dangers of collisions in the Channel the traffic separation scheme has a vital part to play and we have regular meetings with the French authorities about the scheme and other safety measures in the Channel.