§ Lord Nathanasked Her Majesty's Government:
What conclusions they have come to concerning the proposals made in the 15th Report of the Select Committee on the European Communities (Session 1984–85) concerning a change in policy for the discharge of dangerous substances to water, particularly in view of the North Sea Conference that the British Government are to host next year.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Skelmersdale)The Government have given careful consideration to the proposals made in the 15th Report of the Select Committee. As I described in the House on 21st November last year (Vol. 468, col. 691), they would carry with them far-reaching implications which at present cannot be fully assessed. The Government believe that the first priority should be to make progress in controlling List I substances under the new framework Directive EEC/86/280. Given experience with the functioning of this directive, and the selection of substances to be controlled under it, my department may then re-examine the case for a change in approach. We expect the subject of the control of the discharges of dangerous substances to be discussed at the 1987 North Sea Conference and will listen carefully to the views of the countries represented there.