§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress he has made on setting criteria for eco-label schemes(a) within the United Kingdom and (b) within the context of European Commission proposals.
§ Mr. BaldryThe Government would prefer the United Kingdom to he part of a European Communitywide scheme of eco-labelling and will introduce a national scheme only if the Community scheme is delayed. Agreement on the European Commission proposals is currently expected to be reached in December. The European Commission has supported pilot studies by the United Kingdom and others into a number of different product categories which should assist in the setting of criteria under the Communitywide scheme. Further work on these and other product categories will take place before the scheme is launched.