§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those sites where British Coal is(a) prospecting for opencast coal and (b) actively applying for permission to opencast coal; and what assessment he has made of the damage to wildlife should opencast coal mining proceed on each of these sites.
§ Mr. BaldryThis information is not held centrally. MPG 3 advises mineral planning authorities to consider in detail the environmental and other effects of every proposal for opencast coal mining. It also makes clear that environmental assessment is required in appropriate cases.