§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his Department's plans to clean up beaches in England.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe Government's policy is that all significant coastal bathing waters should meet the standards laid down in the EEC bathing waters directive. We have identified almost 400 such waters in the United Kingdom covering all the main seaside resorts. Responsibility for cleaning up the 360 identified waters in England and Wales rests with water authorities. All those authorities with coastal bathing waters have in recent years developed capital programmes designed to achieve the directive's standards. Typically, schemes involve some resewering and the construction of long sea outfalls to replace existing unsatisfactory discharges. We are currently discussing with authorities the implications of bringing all their remaining waters up to EEC standards by 1995.