§ Lord Moranasked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment has been made of the costs and benefits of (a) maintaining local authority prior approval powers under the Clean Air Act 1993 for chimney heights and small combustion plant and (b) returning to a system of post hoc nuisance action to control pollution from small combustion plant; what representations had been received from industry, before the publication of their proposals to repeal certain provisions of the Clean Air Act 1993, that such action would produce a significant reduction in regulatory burden and costs; how much Department of the Environment staff time has been devoted to this initiative and at what cost.
§ Baroness Denton of WakefieldOur examination of the proposals to repeal certain provisions of the Clean Air Act 1993 is set out in the Department of the Environment consultation paper issued in July. We are currently considering responses. No representations on the proposals were received prior to their publication. Information on officials' time and costs incurred on the proposal could only be provided at disproportionate cost.