§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) when he expects to make a statement concerning current and future statutory responsibilities for(a) flood, (b) ecological, (c) environmental and (d) navigational management of the rivers (i) Nene and (ii) Ouse; [52985]
(2) what representations he has received concerning the British Waterways Board consultation on its taking over responsibility from the Environment Agency for navigation on the Nene and Ouse rivers; and if he will place them in the Library. [52987]
§ Angela EagleThe Department has received a number of letters, from Members of Parliament and the public, following British Waterways' (BW) public consultation on its report about the future management of navigation on the Rivers Nene and Great Ouse. There are no plans at this stage to make this correspondence available publicly.
BW is currently assessing the responses to its consultation and will be submitting a further report to me shortly. I imagine that this will include copies of all written submissions. The proposals in the report on which BW consulted present some complex issues relating to the management of the Nene and Great Ouse and to the impact on the environment, waterway users and other organisations connected with the two rivers. I will want to consider carefully all the responses and other comments on the report before deciding on how to proceed.