§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if the Scottish Environment Protection Agency will list the worst repeat offenders against pollution legislation in a form similar to that published for England and Wales. [81277]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe Scottish Environment Protection Agency has no plans to publish a league table of offenders in a similar way to that recently published by the Environment Agency. Information on offences against environmental legislation is published in the Scottish Environment Protection Agency's Annual Reports, copies 177W of which are in the Library. Information on offences in 1998–99 will be included in the report due to be published later this year.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the enforcement regime and level of fines imposed in Scotland against those who transgress pollution standards. [81278]
§ Mr. MacdonaldThe Scottish Environment Protection Agency is the statutory regulator for environmental standards in Scotland. I am satisfied that the Agency is both a firm and fair regulator and is prepared to take enforcement action against those who breach standards or illegally pollute the environment.
In addition to referring cases to the Procurator Fiscal, there are various forms of enforcement action available to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. These include the issue of improvement and prohibition notices. Enforcement action can lead to adverse publicity and loss of accreditation for those companies which have independent environmental management systems. These factors are often stronger deterrents than fines.
It is for the Procurator Fiscal to decide whether it would be in the public interest to prosecute a case referred to him by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The level of fines for pollution offences is entirely a matter for the Sheriff to consider in each case.
From 1 July 1999, this will be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.