HC Deb 29 June 1998 vol 315 cc96-7W
Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the cost of monitoring pollution levels in the Irish Sea in each of the past 10 years. [47739]

Angela Eagle

A number of agencies collaborate under the National Marine Monitoring Plan in monitoring pollution in the seas around the United Kingdom. It is not possible to disaggregate the activities in respect of any particular area of the sea.

Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the total tonnage of sewage sludge dumping in Liverpool Bay in each of the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [47740]

Angela Eagle

These figures are set out in the Reports of the Group Coordinating Sea Disposal Monitoring, published by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) in their Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report series, copies of which are in the Library.

Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the level of algal blooms in Liverpool Bay. [47743]

Angela Eagle

There is a high level of nutrient input into Liverpool Bay. This supports the growth of algal and the development of intense and regular algal blooms. The occurrence of these blooms in Liverpool Bay has been known for sometime and is reported in a variety of Environment Agency publications. Some of these bloom can cause a nuisance through foam formation on beaches but blooms of harmful algal which produce toxins do not occur.

Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the(a)statutory and (b)] non-statutory bodies that have monitored pollution levels in the Irish Sea in each of the past 10 years. [47744]

Angela Eagle

A number of monitoring reports covering the Irish Sea have been produced over the past 10 years. The information contained in these are drawn from different Government Departments, Agencies and other organisations who carry out monitoring under the UK National Monitoring Plan. The main reports are as follows:

  1. 1) Irish Sea status report produced by the Marine Pollution Monitoring Management Group (MPMMG) in 1987 (R. R. Dixon Lowestoft);
  2. 2) A review of radioactivity in the Irish Sea (Kershaw et al Lowestoft 1992);
  3. 3) Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) Aquatic Environment Monitoring Report No. 32.

In addition, a new Irish Sea Quality Status report is being developed by both the UK and Irish Governments for incorporation within the Oslo and Paris Commission's (OSPAR) Quality Status Report 2000. This will be the first overall assessment of the marine environment in the North East Atlantic area since the 1992 OSPAR Convention came into force.

Mr. Ruane

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on co-operation between the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government on monitoring pollution in the Irish Sea. [47742]

Angela Eagle

My Department has been working with the Department of the Environment and the Department of the Marine of the Republic of Ireland for a number of years. These Departments, together with the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland and the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, funded a three-year project to review research and monitoring in the Irish Sea, under an Irish Sea Science Co-ordinator. His third report was published in 1995 and identified gaps in research on the Irish Sea. These conclusions have informed my Department's decisions on funding research in this area.

In addition, the relevant Government Departments in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, and in the Republic of Ireland are jointly taking the lead in the production of a Regional Quality Status Report on the Celtic Seas, including the Irish Sea. This report is one of the five regional reports on which the Quality Status Report of the North East Atlantic, which is being prepared by the OSPAR Commission, will be based.

Back to