§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many relaxations in sewage works discharge consents are currently being allowed in each water authority or water company area; and, of this number, how many are temporary and how many permanent.
§ Mr. Howard[holding answer 13 March 1989]: Authorities may apply for time-limited variations to discharge consents in cases where they plan to complete improvement schemes by March 1992. In addition, some small works may also be eligible for longer-term variations in those limited number of cases where it can be demonstrated that investment to meet current consent requirements would produce negligible environmental benefits. In all cases, HMIP will consider applications on their merits before granting revised consent conditions. At this stage, I cannot say how many applications will be made or granted—either in total or for any water authority.