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Mr. Wigley
asked the Secretary of State for Trade what increased financial provision he will make to step up the research and development work into dispersal cleansing methods of oil pollution at sea; and if he will make a statement on the current generation of oil dispersant chemicals.
Mr. Clinton Davis
The concentrate dispersants currently licensed under the Dumping at Sea Act 1974 for use in the waters off the United Kingdom work effectively over a wide range of types of oil, but not all, and their toxicity, and hence their effect on marine life, is very much less harmful than earlier products. The scale of the research and develop-
| Increase in total duty free quotas | Increase/Decrease in apparent home consumption | |
| 1974 | Approximately—27 per cent, on this trade for 1973 from EFTA sources | +4 percent. |
| 1975 | 9·5 per cent. | -25 per cent. |
| 1976 | 1·8 per cent. | +18 per cent. (53 weeks) |
| 1977 | 0·7 per cent. | +1 per cent. |
| 1978 | 1·5 per cent. | +5per cent, (estimated) |
| Source: PM 481 for September1978 | ||