§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many mobile plant licences have been issued by the Environment Agency; and how many applications for such licenses are pending; [77325]
(2) what estimate she has made of the average cost to a business of (a) obtaining and (h) maintaining a mobile plant licence for land remediation; [77327]
365W (3) what the average time taken to process an application for a mobile plant licence for land remediation is. [77326]
§ Mr. MeacherAs at September 2002, the Environment Agency had issued 85 mobile plant licences. There are 11 applications pending.
The costs of obtaining a mobile plant licence vary depending on the type of mobile plant licence and the information required. The costs of obtaining the licence can be in the region of £15,000 per licence. These costs include the costs of obtaining the required certificate of technical competence, the administrative costs involved in putting together the required information for the application, and a charge of £1,775 made by the Environment Agency as an application charge for an intermediate capacity mobile plant licence.
Maintenance of the licence can cost in the region of £13,000 per annum. These costs include the Environment Agency's annual subsistence charge of £3,200, and the preparation of risk assessments and working plans for the sites where the mobile plant operates.
The average time taken to process mobile plant applications is 7 months.