§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1)whether, pursuant to the Under-Secretary of State's reply to the hon. Member for Melton on 30 July about charges for the collection of trade refuse, he will now make a statement on his policy on this matter, in the light of the recent report of his chief inspector of audit;
(2) whether, following his correspondence with the hon. Member for Melton and Mr. H. Richmond, president of the National Association of Independent Businessmen, he will now introduce legislation to discharge local authorities from their legal duties to charge for the collection of trade refuse; and wheher he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. FoxIn reply to my hon. Friend on 30 July I explained that the Government would give close consideration to the points raised in the chief inspector's report in the light of the advice we receive from the Advisory Committee on Local Government Audit.—[Vol. 989, c.745–47.]
The committee is currently considering the report and will be submitting its conclusions and recommendations to the Consultative Council on Local Government Finance in due course.