Mr. Philip Nugent:

I thank the Chair and the members for the opportunity to speak today. May I clarify something for the record? At the discussion on 6 July, there were some suggestions that Departments had failed to respond to an invitation to attend which had been extended by the committee. We received no such invitation. I just wish to put that on the record. I do not believe any Department was invited.

With regard to the position on integrated pollution control, IPC, licensing, Mr. Lucas has hit the nail on the head. There is no ban and no restriction. There is just a clear requirement, which is common to all types of development, for operators to meet their legal obligations and to have the necessary consents in place. That is not the case and has not been for some time. The requirement to have an IPC licence is not new. In fact, peat extraction on sites of 50 ha or more became an activity subject to Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 in 1994, meaning that it required an IPC licence. It has been a requirement for 27 years. I regard that as a fairly long transition.