§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will shelve plans to proceed with the privatisation of the coal and electricity industries until the environmental problems of sulphur and carbon dioxide emissions have been satisfactorily dealt with and legislation is in place which will avoid further environmental consequences such as the greenhouse effect.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerNo. Privatisation will make no difference to the Government's commitment to improving the environment. Environmental controls apply to private sector companies as they do to those in the public sector and will be strongly enforced when the electricity industry is privatised.