§ Lord Griffiths of Fforestfachasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they intend to repeal the Alkali &c. Works Regulation Act 1906.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers)The Environmental Protection Act 1990 provided for the repeal of the 1906 Alkali Act. I signed on 28th November a commencement order giving effect to this repeal, coming into force on 16th December.
The repeal of this Act marks the end of a chapter of national industrial air pollution legislation which dates back to the first Alkali Act of 1863. The systems of Integrated Pollution Control and Local Air Pollution Control, which are implemented under the Environmental Protection Act of 1990, supersede the old legislation.
These two new systems are now fully operational, with well over 10,000 industrial processes in England and Wales subject to their control. The repeal of the Alkali Act is a reflection of that success.
This is a further example of the Government's intention to remove redundant legislation from the statute books. This commencement order will have the effect of repealing not only the 1906 Act, but also three separate sets of regulations, and provisions in two other Acts.