This morning I asked another question about Walley’s Quarry at Defra questions - this time about the need for transparency from the EA as we try to understand how and why the situation at Walley’s was able to become so out of control.
The EA have a duty to provide access to the public register to those who wish to see it and I have been informed that it has proven difficult to gain the necessary access for those investigating the historic conduct of both the operator and the regulator.
Therefore I have written to both the Secretary of State and to Sir James Bevan, highlighting my concerns, and I was pleased to also raise this at the dispatch box and try to secure a contribution from the Minister that the process will be sped up, in line with the rights any member of the public can expect. I hope the EA will reflect on whether they have been sufficiently accommodating of those seeking the information they hold and if they can improve in this respect.