§ 29. Mr. Ken HargreavesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for ensuring that local authorities carry out effectively their duties on litter.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyWe are considering placing a duty on local authorities to clean public areas, having regard to codes of practice which the Government would issue. We are also looking at ways of enabling local authorities to enforce the Litter Act more effectively.
§ 37. Mr. James LamondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the progress of his campaign to reduce litter in the streets.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe clean nineties campaign launched by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and being developed by the Tidy Britain group is proceeding well. I and other Ministers have been associated with projects and other activities designed to increase public awareness of the problem and involvement in solutions. 579W We expect the Tidy Britain group's projects to result in codes of practice, setting standards of cleanliness, in time for the launch of Tidy Britain Year-1990.
We will shortly be reviewing the City of Westminster's fixed penalty scheme for littering to see whether it should be extended nationally. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport launched a £1 million litter clearing campaign on 17 March and is monitoring the standards in his Department's code of practice for routine maintenance of roads.