Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what changes he expects in the levels of sulphur emissions in the United Kingdom as a whole over the coming decade; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe Government are determined to cut sulphur emissions, the largest single source of which is electricity generation. We have a firm commitment, embodied in the European Community's large combustion plants directive, to reduce sulphur emissions from existing power stations by 40 per cent. of the 1980 level by 1998. We have also adopted stringent standards for new plants.