§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the administrative and regulatory costs to the Environment Agency of designating(a) 55 per cent. and (b) 100 per cent. of England as a nitrate vulnerable zone. [68103]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 10 July 2002]: Following a detailed consideration of all the issues raised during the consultation process, the Government announced on 27 June that it intends to adopt the targeted approach, and designate 55 per cent. of England as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs).
The Environment Agency is in the process of assessing the costs and resources required for administering and enforcing the new designations under the Nitrates Directive. Initial indications are that both options cost around £2 million each, excluding costs arising from staff training and resolving boundary disputes. This similarity between costs arises because even if the whole territory had been designated, the Agency would have adopted the same priority based approach to enforcement that it will be using in the newly designated areas.