To ask the President of the Board of Trade what controls exist to ensure that the feasibility studies being carried out by the Mersey Barrage Company are of sufficient quality to enable reliable predictions of the likely environmental impacts of the proposed Mersey tidal power barrage.

The Mersey Barrage Company has set up three working parties covering water quality, fisheries, and all environmental issues, to assist in ensuring that the work assessing the environmental impact of the barrage is of sufficient quality. The working parties include representatives from both statutory and non-statutory environmental organisations.

To ask the President of the Board of Trade how variations in the operational procedures of the proposed Mersey tidal power barrage have been accounted for in the stage III studies of environmental impacts; and if he will make a statement.

In the current phase of work, variations in the operational procedures of the proposed Mersey barrage are being examined in relation to environmental impact by, for example, considering the intertidal area available for the wintering bird population. This work is expected to be reported later in the year.