Clause 1 - Meaning of ''emergency''
Civil Contingencies Bill
10:15 am
Mr Elfyn Llwyd (Parliamentary Leader; Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Plaid Cymru)
The Minister knows that one problem to be catered for is environmental damage. Can I remind him of the Sea Empress disaster off the coast of Wales? In that instance it was almost fortunate that the accident happened near Milford Haven, where the expertise was situated. Further up the coast, in north-west Wales, from where I hail, there is no such counter-pollution expertise. How would our local contingency plans be knitted in with somebody who was more au fait with what is necessary in that sort of disaster?