MARINE POLLUTION

Early day motion 800, tabled 28 February 2003 by Simon Thomas (Plaid Cymru). Signed by 39 members.

That this House notes the recent ecological disaster caused by the Prestige oil tanker off the coast of Spain; calls on the Government to introduce a statutory duty on coastal local authorities to plan for and undertake shoreline clean-ups following marine pollution incidents; emphasises that this can only be successfully achieved if the Government provides more resources and funding for emergency planning; and notes that a creation of statutory duty was recommended by both the Donaldson Inquiry following the Braer oil spill in 1994, and the report of the Sea Empress Environmental Evaluation Committee in 1996.

Signatures by party: Labour 19, Liberal Democrat 12, Conservative 3, Plaid Cymru 3, Labour/Co-operative 1, UUP 1.