Ozone Depletion (Hansard, 11 December 1991)

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had in the last year with representatives of ICI in relation to ozone depletion; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Baldry
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had a number of discussions with Sir Denys Henderson and other ICI board members on a wide range of environmental issues. Earlier this year the possibility was discussed of his opening the world's first commercial plant for the ozone friendly refrigerant HFC 134a at ICI's Runcorn site. In the event, the plant was opened by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister.

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on current scientific knowledge regarding ozone depletion over the United Kingdom; and whether his Department is taking any extra measures in the light of recent scientific findings.

§ Mr. Baldry
The fourth report of my Department's stratospheric ozone review group, published in July 1991, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House, reported satellite evidence for ozone column depletion at the latitudes of the United Kingdom and Europe of up to 8 per cent. over the past decade during the late winter and early spring. Further satellite data presented in the Montreal protocol scientific assessment report, due to be published early next year, suggest that for the period 1978 to 1990, the trend in average annual total ozone over the United Kingdom was between -4 and -6 per cent. per decade, consistent with a recent re-analysis of Dobson Spectrophotometer measurements made at Bracknell and Lerwick by the Meteorological Office.
In the forthcoming international negotiations towards the revision of the Montreal protocol, the United Kingdom will be pressing for the earliest possible phase out for all ozone depleting substances.

§ Mr. Simon Hughes
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many staff in his Department are currently working full-time on stratospheric ozone issues; and at what grades they are employed.

§ Mr. Baldry
Six staff work full time on ozone layer policy issues; one each at grade 7, senior executive officer, higher executive officer, executive officer, administrative officer and administrative assistant level. Management of the stratospheric ozone component of my Department's research programme will amount to approximately two man years in 1991–92. It is led at grade 6.