HL Deb 18 January 1993 vol 541 cc73-4WA
Lord Moran

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Department of the Environment's Working Group on Peat Extraction and Related Matters, which includes representatives of the statutory conservation agencies, also includes representatives of the commercial companies engaged in the extraction of lowland peat and belonging to the Peat Producers' Association, but does not include representatives of those non-governmental conservation organisations who have expertise on peat; and, if so, why it is that the non-governmental organisations are excluded.

Lord Strathclyde

As my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of the Environment announced on 7th July 1992 in another place, in answer to a Question from my honourable friend the Member for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) (Official Report, column 158), the working group includes representatives drawn from the statutory nature and countryside conservation bodies in Great Britain, mineral planning authorities, the peat industry and government departments. It has at its disposal a comprehensive range of expertise. We recognise the knowledge of some of the non-governmental conservation organisations on peat matters. They have been invited to submit views to the group and will be further consulted as the work progresses.