§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what steps he is taking to ensure relevant information in respect of incineration is drawn to the attention of Ministers in his Department. [137539]
§ Mr. MullinNone, as Ministers are as a matter of course kept fully in touch with waste management policy issues through the Department.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the information made available to Ministers in the last six months relating to anticipated deaths and pollution-related illnesses associated with proposed incinerators. [137540]
§ Mr. MullinMinisters have been kept fully in touch with work on the health effects of incinerators. Most recently, information provided to Ministers has included the correction by the consultants Entec UK Ltd. to their estimate of benefits of the proposed waste incineration directive1, showing that some of the figures for health effects currently in circulation are very significant over estimates. (The error is explained in EM 10417/00 on the proposed waste incineration directive).
1 Regulatory and Environmental Impact Assessment of the Proposed Waste Incineration Directive Final Report February 1999 (in the House Library).