§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to bring forward proposals to amend the Control of Pollution Act 1974, in order to clarify the current problem of affixing responsibility on owners and carriers of oil at sea, respectively.
§ Mr. Denis HowellIt would not be appropriate to seek to amend the Control of Pollution Act 1974 to deal with such matters. The respective responsibilities of ship and cargo owners to pay compensation for oil pollution damage are already clearly defined in the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 and the Merchant Shipping Act 1974.
§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment on how many occasions and when he has met local authority representatives to discuss the review of beach-cleaning arrangements in the event of oil spillage at sea since the review was announced on 2nd August; and when he expects to issue his report on the matter.
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§ Mr. Denis HowellThe Department of the Environment's study of the arrangements for dealing with the pollution of beaches following a major oil spillage at sea is almost completed. The next step will be to enter into detailed consultations with the local authority associations, and this will he initiated very shortly.