§ Mr. MorleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the conditions attached to dredging licences; what mechanisms will be employed to monitor compliance with conditions; when they will be made public; and if he will make a statement [4766]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordDredging licences are issued by the Crown Estate Commissioners. A prerequisite to the issue of a licence is a favourable Government view issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. Government views contain any conditions specified by the Government under which the extraction should be allowed to go ahead. These conditions are designed to ensure protection of the marine environment and to prevent coastal damage arising from the dredging operation. They also include monitoring requirements and the provision of monitoring data for consideration by the Crown Estate, this Department and the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food.
Letters containing Government views are issued to the Crown Estate, who include the conditions in their licences, and are copied to interested parties. They are available to the public. It would be for the Crown Estate Commissioners to decide whether to make licences public.