Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has reviewed the effectiveness of the German Federal Immission Control Act; and whether he has any plans to implement similar such legislation in the UK.

No, the Government has not reviewed the effectiveness of the German Federal Immission Control Act. The UK introduced a similar integrated approach to controlling pollution to air, water and land with the Environmental Protection Act 1990, as well as the concept of Best Available Techniques. These approaches have subsequently been adopted and applied across the EU through the Industrial Emissions Directive, which sets challenging industry standards for the most polluting industries.