HC Deb 16 July 1990 vol 176 c456W
Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he intends to take to ensure that beaches awarded the European Economic Community blue flag safety levels maintain the standards and to monitor those standards.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

It will be for the National Rivers Authority using its powers under the Water Act 1989 to monitor bathing waters and to ensure that they continue to meet the directive's standards. Responsibility for beaches rests with the local authority or, in some cases, with the owner. They have a clear incentive to ensure that their beaches continue to meet the requirements for the award of a blue flag.

Mr. Fearn

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate the overall cost of cleaning the nation's beaches to European Economic Community blue flag safety levels.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

The cost of bringing the bathing waters up to the directive's standards and ensuring that all substantial discharges of sewage will be treated is estimated at £2.9 billion. The cost of bringing beaches up to the standards needed to qualify for a blue flag has not yet been estimated nationally.