§ Lord Strabolgiasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the modified European Community proposal for a Council directive on the conservation of natural and semi-natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora [COM (91) final] dated 8th 70WA February 1991 indicates a change of attitude concerning sites of special scientific interest that have prior planning permission.
§ Baroness Blatch:No. The proposed directive, while imposing general obligations on member states for the conservation of the natural heritage, is primarily concerned with endangered species and habitat types. The United Kingdom already takes steps to protect sites of international significance. The SSSI network is the foundation on which we build these protective measures and will perform the same function for sites designated under the proposed directive.