§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Halesowen and Stourbridge (Mr. Hawksley),Official Report, 24 March, columns 663–64, on contaminated land, what additional resources he will make available to local authorities in support of their statutory powers to locate and deal with contaminated land while the new interdepartmental review group he announced today conducts its study.
§ Mr. MacleanLocal authorities already receive general support through revenue support grant for their expenditure on environmental services. This includes expenditure in connection with their duties to identify contaminated land and to ensure that remedial measures are taken where necessary. The Government give additional support to authorities by means of supplementary credit approvals for investigation and remedial works on authorities' own sites or where it is impracticable to recover treatment costs from those responsible.