§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what measures he proposes to ensure the adequacy of the quality of environmental data provision for the European Environment Agency; [15115]
(2) what provision he will make to ensure that dissonant information is given adequate recognition in EU environmental networks through the United Kingdom focal point. [15116]
§ Mr. AtkinsMy Department has established a network of organisations in the UK which will contribute to the work of the European Environment Agency. These organisations have widely recognised expertise in the fields of environmental monitoring and data collection, in particular at the national and European levels which will be the EEA's primary interest. Co-ordination of the UK network is the responsibility of the UK national focal point based in the environmental protection statistics division of my Department. The NFP will act as a channel of communication between the network and the EEA, to ensure that network members provide reliable and balanced information to the EEA and that network members are not overburdened with requests for unnecessary information.
The EEA will also be open to receiving information form other organisations which are not part of the official network, including, for example, non-governmental organisations. Where any information provided by such organisations does not accord with that from official sources, the agency will investigate discrepancies.