§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assistance his Department has given to companies to inform them of their charter rights in regard to Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution.
§ Mr. AtkinsOn 22 March HMIP launched its charter in the shape of a booklet "Pollution Prevention—Our Common Concern". Some 30,000 copies have been printed.
The launch was made at the ET '94 exhibition at the national exhibition centre in Birmingham, where HMIP had a stand. By the end of the exhibition 1,200 copies had been taken by visitors, many of them from industry.
In addition, copies have been sent to every local authority, trade associations, environmental groups, and to every Member of this House. It was also the subject of a full press release to all national and regional media.
Copies are also available in every HMIP regional office, and pollution inspectors have been tasked to ensure that every company they inspect or visit receives a copy.
The HMIP charter is also referred to in the DOE Publication "Your Council and the Environment" and in the HMIP booklet "Protecting Britain's Environment".
The full tex of the charter will shortly become available to the public via the new "ECOFACTS" 24-hour a day phone-in, fax-out line, as part of a battery of HMIP information including an index to the public registers held at regional offices.
Initial reaction to the publication has been very encouraging.