§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any proposals to bring all United Kingdom beaches up to the cleanliness standards set down by the European Economic Community; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveMany of our bathing waters already meet the standards set by the directive (76/160/EEC). New sea outfalls are generally designed to ensure that receiving waters meet the directive's standards and some £70 million is now being spent annually on schemes to improve coastal water quality. As a result, we expect a steady increase in the number of waters meeting the directive's standards.