HC Deb 03 May 1989 vol 152 cc168-9W
39. Mr. Norman Hogg

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he plans to take to bring Scotland's bathing waters up to the standards set by EEC directives.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

Where identified bathing waters do not meet the standard set in the EC bathing water directive, sewage discharges from public sewers are often a contributory factor. In these circumstances, it is for the regional councils as sewerage authorities, in conjunction with the river purification authorities, to plan and execute improvement works. In other cases, it is for the river purification authority to identify the source of pollution and pursue measures to improve the water with the polluter. The latest position is set out in the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 13 April at columns 682–83.