§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will appoint a committee to promote the sponsorship of nature conservation projects similar to the Committee of Honour appointed for the purpose of promoting sponsorship of the Arts.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneI am keen to promote the sponsorship of nature conservation and have encouraged the Nature Conservancy Council, the Government's statutory advisers, to examine every means by which increased sponsorship may be achieved for nature conservation as a whole. A co-ordinating group of the NCC and the major voluntary nature conservation bodies is investigating a variety of new sponsorship ideas in consultation with commercial interests. These investigations are well advanced and have already met with some success. I do not, therefore, consider it necessary to appoint a further committee for this purpose.