§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Prime Minister if he will give the date and location of his national seminar with planners, conservationists and farmers; if he will list the organisations, both government and non-government, which are to be invited to attend; if he will also give the same information for each of the local seminars being organised around the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Prime Minister[holding answer 19 February 1992]: A national conference "The Countryside and the Rural Economy" is being held to promote the role of the planning system in balancing the needs to diversify the rural economy and to conserve and enhance the rural environment. It is being organised jointly by the Department of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and will be held on 16 March at the Royal Agricultural Society of England.
More than 200 invitations have been sent to individual farmers and planners, representatives of conservation, farming, planning and other organisations with an interest in rural development, planning consultants and academics. DoE and MAFF propose to follow up this conference with a series of regional seminars, inviting people and organisations with a similar range of interests and concentrating on issues of particular concern in each area.