§ Mr. ConwayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what he is doing to ensure that those waste disposal authorities identified in the answer to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Sir H. Rossi)Official Report, 11 January, columns 684–85, submit waste disposal plans as they are required to do under section 1 of the Control of Pollution Act.
§ Mr. TrippierI have today written to leaders of the 15 authorities concerned asking them to submit their plans by 30 November. My officials will be discussing with the authorities concerned the steps needed for completing the plans by this date. Officials are also writing to other authorities asking them to provide confirmation of their latest plans.
At the same time, we are proposing an amendment to the Environmental Protection Bill to allow my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to set deadlines for the preparation of waste disposal plans and to prescribe the factors to be taken into account in preparing such plans.
We attach considerable importance to having a comprehensive framework of such plans across the country. Under the Bill's provisions, we see these plans as providing a vital framework for informing investment decisions by public and private sector waste disposal interests as well as publicising required standards and enforcement policies by the new waste regulation authorities. We shall be reviewing the content and scope of these plans for the future and will be issuing, in due course, revised guidance to local authorities on how existing plans should be updated.