§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the EC Commission regarding the state of British bathing waters.
§ Mr. TrippierMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State spoke to Commissioner Ripa di Meana on 19 December 1990 about the revised proposals for improving the United Kingdom's bathing waters that we had sent to the EC Commission last November.
The Commissioner was pleased both about the progress we are making in improving standards and about our plans for increased investment in the future. They agreed that United Kingdom and EC Commission officials should study the United Kingdom's proposals in detail so that the Commission could satisfy itself that bathing waters were being improved as quickly as practicable. That work is currently under way.
474WThey also agreed that once the Commission has satisfied itself that the United Kingdom is doing all that is practicably possible there would be no advantage in pursuing further legal proceedings which, of themselves, do nothing to speed improvements.