HC Deb 21 December 1988 vol 144 cc261-2W
Mr. Lord

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when the United Kingdom will ratify the Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.

Mrs. Virginia Bottomley

I am pleased to announce that the United Kingdom and its dependent territories, together with the European Community and most other member states, ratified the protocol in New York on 16 December. Only France and Belgium had not completed their internal procedures by that date. This means that the necessary ratifications are now in place for the protocol to enter into force as planned on 1 January 1989.