Written question asked by Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 22 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 30 October 2003. It was answered by Keith Hill (Labour) on Thursday, 30 October 2003 on behalf of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Question: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will list the sites of dredging activity offshore; and if he will place a map of sites in the Library. - Inc ref to www.crownestate.co.uk and fact that schedule and maps of all currently licensed dredging areas will be available in Library (Dep 03/2685).

Answer: Norman Lamb: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the sites of dredging activity offshore; and if he will place a map of sites in the Library. [134763] Keith Hill: Dredging activity offshore is statutorily controlled by a number of bodies including the Crown Estate, coast protection authorities, the Department of Transport, harbour and port authorities, local planning authorities and some private owners of seabed. There is no central record of all types of offshore dredging. However, most marine minerals dredging is licensed by the Crown Estate and I have asked it to provide a schedule and maps of all currently licensed dredging areas. I will forward these to the hon. Member as soon as I receive them and will arrange for copies to be available in the Library of the House. Information about offshore dredging licences issued by the Crown Estate is also available on the Crown Estate's website: www.crownestate.co.uk which is regularly updated.

Secondary information