§ Mr. Lesterasked the Secretary of State for the Environment in what way he took into account the recent report on hazardous waste disposal by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology when drawing up his proposals in the White Paper, "Streamlining the Cities", for dealing with waste disposal.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe White Paper "Streamlining the Cities" makes it clear that before the transfer of waste disposal and regulation to the London boroughs and metropolitan district councils, the Government will need to be satisfied that the authorities concerned have made effective co-operative arrangements for the future operation of these functions to ensure the proper discharge of disposal and regulation responsibilities.
The more detailed consultation document on "Arrangements for Waste Disposal" sets out the key criteria against which we will consider the effectiveness of proposals for co-operation, and these reflect many of the views expressed by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in its report on hazardous waste disposal.