Mrs Beckett said: “There is no evidence of a vast and growing problem or of great difficulty. It is a pity that Opposition Members are trying to create such a problem when one does not exist.”
And, the Secretary of State said that 6 million had been allocated to local authorities to cover their costs up to the end of March and that the matter will be discussed further with local authorities.
Mrs Beckett also mounted a vigorous defence of her Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, who was described as “dithering” by Peter Ainsworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment.
Mountain
Mr Ainsworth said: “I am delighted that the Secretary of State has come here to answer questions on fridges; we are used to the dithering performance of the Minister for the Environment. Perhaps she can clear something up for us. The Minister has blamed the European Commission for failing to keep him informed of the consequences of the directive on the recycling of fridges. As she will know, the Commission has vehemently denied that and blames the Government for the fridge mountain. As they cannot both be telling the truth, which one of them is not doing so?”
Mrs Beckett responded: “It is the first time that I have heard anybody call my right honourable friend dithering, and I have certainly never seen any evidence to suggest that he has such a problem—forthright and determined, yes, but dithering, no. On the handling of the fridges legislation, the honourable Gentleman will be aware that there is a very clear difference of opinion between ourselves and the Commission. I remind him that, as I said, 12 member states had not taken action to implement the directive, while 12 clearly had concerns about precisely what it meant.”
Directives
The session also saw Andrew George, Liberal Democrat MP for St. Ives warn that the UK was not keeping up with new directives: “A new wave of European legislation to which Britain has signed up is fast coming along, and her Department is as unprepared for that as it was for the directive that resulted in 250,000 fridges being stockpiled. Does she accept that her Department does not have the capacity to cope, and that Britain runs the risk of being seen as the laggard in Europe in respect of waste management and recycling?
Margaret Beckett did not accept this, saying Mr George's comments were completely unjustified. “The hon. Gentleman rolled into his observations a number of different sets of regulations that are all at different stages of discussion and implementation. For example, the waste electrical and electronic equipment directive is still under discussion in the European Parliament, so we are some distance away from that. I entirely share his view that it is right that we take on board the implications of these issues and prepare for them as thoroughly as we can.”
She added that the End of Life Vehicles Directive is a matter for the Department of Trade and Industry and discussions are underway to ensure proper and proportionate the legislation. She added: “There is no truth whatever in the suggestion that the UK is a laggard in these matters. Every member state has the same concerns and frequently the same difficulties as people experience in this country.”
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