§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the waste disposal sites in Lancashire and their anticipated lifespans; and what is the Government's assessment of the likely requirements for new waste disposal sites over the next 15 years.
§ Mr. MacleanLancashire county council, as a waste regulation authority, maintains public register with details of currently operational disposal sites in its area and will be able to advise on their anticipated lifespans.
573WResponsibility for assessing the future waste disposal needs in Lancashire presently lies with the county council which is required to draw up a waste management plan for its area.
In due course, when the environment agency has been set up, we envisage that the Secretary of State will :issue a statement of waste policies and priorities on the advice of the agency, which will consider waste disposal needs in each region, and across the country as a whole over the next 10 to 15 years. Copies of the Department's consultation paper "Waste Disposal Planning under an Environment Agency" which sets out these proposals in more detail, have been placed in the Library.