§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will name the green minister for his Department and list(a) the green initiatives taken by that Minister in respect of the Department's functions, (b) the representations made by the Minister in respect of functions carried out by other Departments and (c) the input made by the Minister into consultations on the Environment Bill. [18656]
§ Mr. FreemanMy noble friend Lord Henley, the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, is the Department's green Minister. He chairs the ministerial steering group which provides policy direction and determines appropriate environmental and energy efficiency strategies to ensure compliance with relevant United Kingdom legislation, EC directives and wider Government policy. The ministerial steering group has initiated a programme of environmental reviews of defence activities which have the potential to harm the environment. These include reviews of land contamination and the defence estate; pollution prevention procedures; the use of particularly hazardous substances and my Department's aqueous discharge and water abstraction arrangements.