§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what activities his Green Minister has undertaken and what he has achieved as regards sustainability within the Department since being appointed. [50415]
§ Mr. RookerAs Green Minister, I meet regularly with colleagues within the Department to discuss its policies.
I appeared before the Environmental Audit Committee on 31 March to report on the Department's actions on greening Government and sustainability in general.
I have also attended two meetings of Green Ministers which have considered the future role of Green Ministers, the consultation papers on the review of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy, green operations and revised guidance on the environmental appraisal of policies.
I met my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment to discuss the Department's programme for ensuring the further integration of sustainable development into policies and the greening of operations. The Department has circulated guidance on carrying out environmental appraisal of policies, and published a consultation paper on the development of a set of indicators for sustainable agriculture in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to raise awareness of environmental and sustainability issues within his Department; and if specific training will be made available to staff. [50413]
§ Mr. RookerAwareness of environmental and sustainability issues is aIready recognised as important to the work of the Department and is integral to its training and development programme.