§ Mr. Colvinasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken by his Department in the light of the publication by the Thames water authority of the "Performance of Sewage Works—Annual Report 1985", with specific reference to the number of sewage works which failed to comply with their consents in 1985.
§ Mr. John PattenThe reports compiled by water authorities on the performance of their sewage treatment works in 1985 were voluntary and did not have to be submitted to the Department. However, all water authorities will be submitting formal reports for 1986 on the compliance of these works with consent conditions. Some have already been received and the rest are expected in the near future. We shall be examining the reasons for non-compliance and discussing with individual water authorities the action they propose to take to remedy the shortcomings identified in these reports. I envisage that Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution — through its new water pollution inspection arm — will have an important role in this.