§ Mr. ThomasonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make an announcement about the spending plans of the Department of the Environment, Ordnance Survey and the Office of Water Services for the years 1996–97 to 1998–99. [22345]
§ Mr. GummerYes. I have today published the Department of the Environment's annual report for 1996. This sets out in detail the outcome of the public expenditure survey which was announced in the November 1995 Budget statement as it affects the areas of my responsibility. The report records how the Department, Ordnance Survey and the Office of Water Services have discharged their functions over the past year. It provides the background to each spending programme and it sets out our plans for the future, where it sees environmental concerns playing a key role both within the UK and in the European Union.