§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what procedures have been put in place by his Department to monitor the environmental impacts arising from the implementation of "A Working Countryside for Wales: Wales Rural White Paper". [25294]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe cross-department team being set up to oversee the implementation of the White Paper will consider economic, social and environmental issues. It will include representatives of the Welsh Office environment division and the Countryside Council for Wales.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what alternative courses of action from those detailed in "A Working Countryside for Wales: Wales Rural White Paper" were considered in the environmental appraisal undertaken by his Department; [25292]
(2) what environmental appraisal using the guidance contained in "Policy Appraisal and the Environment" produced by the Department of the Environment "A Working Countryside for Wales: Wales Rural White Paper" has been subject to; and if he will publish the appraisal; [25291]
(3) how "A Working Countryside for Wales: Wales Rural White Paper" was modified by the results of an environmental appraisal undertaken by his Department. [25293]
§ Mr. JonesThe White Paper represents a review of the full range of the Welsh Office's responsibilities which affect rural Wales. It was prepared in the light of the Government's policy of supporting sustainable development and protecting and conserving the environment, and is not itself susceptible to environmental appraisal, I am confident that the policies it sets out will separately and together improve the environment in rural Wales.