To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what statistics his Department collates on the trans-national movement of waste; what form the information takes; and what public access there is to this information; [34457](2) if he will list the types and quantities of toxic waste imported into the United Kingdom in each year since 1992 for

Information relating to transnational shipments of waste into and out of England and Wales is collected on behalf of my Department and the Welsh Office by the Environment Agency. The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and the Environment and Heritage Agency of Northern Ireland collect similar information for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. Information on each shipment of waste is derived from the consignment notes that must accompany all international movements of waste and includes: date of entry/departure, type of waste, hazardous characteristics of shipment, amount imported/exported, country of origin or destination, the type of disposal or recovery operation to be used.My Department publishes information on the types and quantities of waste imported into England and Wales for recycling and other processing in the "Digest of Environmental Statistics", which is available from the Stationery Office. The Digest also contain less detailed information on the quantities of waste imported into Scotland and Northern Ireland. A facsimile of the Digest is also placed on the Internet at http: \\www.detr.gov.uk\doe\envir\epsim. The tables show the information requested. Figures for 1994 cover only the period 6 May 1994 to 31 December 1994. Figures for 1995 are provisional. Figures for 1994 onwards are not strictly comparable with those for the earlier years, as replacement of the Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 1988, with Council Regulation (EEC) No 259/93 on 6 May 1994 led to changes in the operation of the system from which data are derived and to the definitions used.