§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what resources have been deployed by his 261W Department to ensure compliance with the requirements of agenda 21 of the Rio de Janeiro summit; and if he will make a statement. [15944]
§ Mr. ClappisonIt is one of my Department's main objectives, through the implementation of the United Kingdom sustainable development strategy, to ensure effective follow-up to agenda 21 and the agreements reached at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The United Kingdom plays a leading role in international fora, such as the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and the environmental conventions, in helping to promote agreement on tackling global issues identified by agenda 21. The United Kingdom report to the Commission on Sustainable Development of 1996 gives details of estimated expenditure by the Department on sustainable development. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has to co-ordinate local agenda 21 activities; which local authorities have reported that they are unlikely to be able to report on their plans by December 1996; and if he will make a statement. [15945]
§ Mr. ClappisonMy Department welcomes and supports the local agenda 21 process. I understand that the Local Government Management Board, on behalf of the local agenda 21 steering group, has invited local authorities to send their local agenda 21 action plans agreed with their local communities to it by the end of 1996, and that response so far from UK local authorities has been good. Authorities are not obliged to report their progress to my Department, but we will continue to be interested in the progress being made.