HC Deb 05 March 2002 vol 381 cc219-20W
Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent steps her Department has taken to assist local authorities with inspection of polluting processes. [38642]

Mr. Meacher

Local authorities receive income from fees and charges required to be paid by relevant polluting processes to cover the costs of undertaking their Local Air Pollution Control functions. The new risk-based regulation methodology being developed should provide local authorities with a framework for planning their inspection programmes.

Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department(a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure that local authorities conduct the inspection of polluting processes required by (i) her Department and (ii) statute. [38406]

Mr. Meacher

Local authorities have been given the Local Air Pollution Control regulatory function and it is for them to ensure that it is carried out adequately. They are letting down those they represent if they do not do so.

Local authorities have powers of entry under section 108 of the Environment Act 1995 to carry out inspections. Although the statute does not prescribe any specific level or frequency of inspections, like any statutory power this power must be exercised reasonably, to pursue the purpose of the statute.

The Department works closely with the Local Government Association and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health over the implementation of LAPC. Specifically, in the last two years it has publicly listed all local authorities with a low inspection record, and has this year written to all these local authorities asking to be told what action will be taken to rectify the situation. We will shortly be writing to chief executives of all local authorities to remind them of the importance of undertaking adequate inspection.

Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment her Department has made of the results of the local authority pollution control statistical survey since 1997; and what steps have been taken by her Department in consequence. [38643]

Mr. Meacher

The statistical survey covers a wide spectrum of issues concerning the local air pollution control system; the 2000–01 report is over 200 pages long. It ranges from simple numbers of applications and authorised processes in each of the 24 process categories, to data on speed of local authority decision, numbers and types of prosecutions, whether cost accounting is undertaken, and whether authorities have enforcement policies. Each statistical report is circulated to key stakeholders for their comment and the reports are now published. The reports are very carefully considered by the Department and decisions made on what steps should be taken. For example, in the light of figures on local authority take-up of cost accounting, steps were taken to reinforce to local authorities the importance of adopting such practice, and practical guidance was issued to all local authorities on cost accounting methods.

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