Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010

My Lords, indeed I am—as are the Government. We recognise the issues that arise around compliance. I say to the Committee that the industry has its interests, but we also have an obligation to the country that we serve to get these things right. I shall merely mention the disasters that have occurred in the past and are never to recur because we have the necessary controls and requirements. To take the most obvious one, Aberfan was a tragedy of the most appalling kind because we did not have sufficient control over the regulation of waste management from the extractive industries. I know it is a long time ago now, and because it is in the distant past it may be thought that it is always straightforward to guard against such an event in future, but for that to be true the safeguards need to be in place. I recognise that on all fronts we have moved on a great deal from that time and we have regulations in place; I am merely indicating to the Committee that, in seeking to fairly represent the interests of the industry, we must take the greatest care that we do not in any way dilute the overall objectives of ensuring that practices are entirely safe. The Government are bound to recognise that as their major obligation and duty. On the issue of the china clay industry, which the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, raised, we think that we have the balance right with regard to regulation in these circumstances. This partly relates to the question that the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, also raised about our comparative position to that of other states. I do not say for a moment that because Germany and Sweden, for example, have not seen any need to change their regulations, they are upholding lower standards than we are; they may meet the European directives and requirements and meet the standards that we do because they were already operating standards at that level so did not need to change. However, we are not in the business of comparative analysis with other countries, unless they can identify that the way that they are going about things is more cost-effective as well as meeting the standards of safety both for the environment and for people, which is what we ourselves are seeking. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Rennard, on this issue and on the point that the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, raised about china clay, that we think that we have the balance right, which is why we have presented the regulations in these terms. I appreciate the concerns that have been expressed today. I will look at the record, and where I may have been remiss in responding—some of the points were very detailed—I will ensure that proper responses are made to Members. However, I emphasise once again that these regulations meet the standards that we expect with regard to our objectives. They do so as a streamlining exercise. They help us to protect the environment and human health and they are risk-based and proportionate, but they are considerably less diverse, less bulky, less onerous and easier to follow—despite the reservations that the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, identified—and less costly. We estimate that the regulations will save business and the regulators £45 million over the next 10 years, and they may save both those in the industry and indeed parliamentarians some time in reading fewer pages than was the case with the regulations that they have replaced. They are also the product of partnership. We therefore feel that, after considerable consultation, we have the balance right. Motion agreed.