§ Mr. DafisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will bring forward proposals to the European Environment Council to bring forward the658W required reporting dates for environmental information provided for under article 7 of Council directive 91/692/EEC, as published in the Official Journal, No. L 377, pages 48-55, 31 December 1991, following decisions taken on the reporting of environmental information at the United Nations conference on environment and development.
§ Mr. MacleanThe reporting dates specified in article 7 of the directive were agreed as recently as December 1991 following thorough consultation and represent the shortest practicable timetable for implementation. We do not therefore intend to propose that they should be brought forward.
We fully support the conclusions of UNCED on regular reporting of progress towards sustainable development but this has no direct bearing on the timetable for implementation of the EC directive. The United Kingdom is well placed to follow up UNCED through its established system of annual white paper reports.