§ Lord Gallacherasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in view of a proposal by the Scottish Office to bring together the current work of the Agriculture and Fisheries Department and the Environment Department's work on water, pollution control, forestry, rural affairs and conservation, consideration will be given to a comparable departmental merger of these functions in England and Wales.
The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Earl Howe)The Government believe that the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of the Environment work effectively together, and have no plans to merge their functions, or functions of the Welsh Office, in a single department.