§ Mr. Harold Walkerasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set up an inquiry into the supply and demand of quarrying resources with the object of decreasing quarrying within the national parks.
§ Mr. Graham PageNo.
Studies of future supply and demand for aggregates—sand and gravel, limestone, igneous rock and sandstone—are already under way and include an assessment of the nation's resources of these materials. In addition, the Institute of Geological Sciences has been commissioned by the Department of Trade and Industry to undertake an exploration programme aimed at providing preliminary information on areas of potential mineralisation in Great Britain. These programmes will give the Government more comprehensive information than is at present available on the extent of the country's mineral resources for use in long-term economic and land use planning, and will assist the consideration of future proposals for mineral working in national parks.