§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has on the adequacy of the litter bins in (a) Kensington Gardens and (b) other royal parks; and if he will ensure that more and larger receptacles of decent design are provided before the summer season.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe are currently reviewing our arrangements for litter collection in Kensington Gardens and the other royal parks. We are looking for improvements in both the collection arrangements and in the design and distribution of bins. We already provide extra bins for the summer season and bins are regularly emptied. But we are clearly not coping satisfactorily with removing the vast amounts of litter produced by visitors, particularly on warm weekends and bank holidays.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce legislation providing for fixed penalty fines for offences committed under the Litter Act 1983; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe Government have no plans to introduce legislation providing for fixed penalties for littering. There are doubts about the practicability of applying such a system, bearing in mind the additional strain that it would place on the police and criminal justice system.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any plans to introduce legislation to empower traffic wardens to enforce anti-litter legislation; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveWe have no plans to introduce legislation to empower traffic wardens to enforce anti-litter legislation. The service is already fully stretched in performing the duties currently allotted to it, and to extend its range of activities would serve only to spread the scarce manpower resources more thinly and thus reduce the effectiveness of the service.