asked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will introduce, as a matter of urgency, a Government-supported scheme for stabilising the market for waste paper so as to encourage local authorities to salvage the 3 million tonnes not reclaimed each year at an estimated annual cost to the balance of payments of £240 million.

The Waste Paper Advisory Group, which I chair, is urgently studying possible ways and means of stabilising the waste paper market in the future. The Government will consider the results of this study, which is expected in the spring, closely and sympathetically.