§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the many canisters containing weed killer and mercury-based seed dressing now being washed up on the North Coast of the Isle of Wight, he will provide advice and financial assistance to the local authorites whose job it is to deal with the emergency.
538W
§ Mr. FoxI am seeing that the local authorities have all the advice they require. Full information is available to all coastal authorities about sources of advice on dealing with hazardous substances washed ashore. If the containers now being washed up come from the "Aeolian Sky", the local authorities were given details of her cargo after the ship sank.
I have at present no evidence that the task of dealing with the containers amounts to an emergency calling for financial assistance.