§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the content of, and decisions reached at, the third meeting of green ministers. [47780]
§ Mr. MeacherOn 8 June, Green Ministers met for the third time, to consider the next stage of the Greening Government Initiative.
We agreed that we should continue to meet three times a year. Starting in the next Parliamentary Session in the Autumn, we will announce our main programme of work for the coming year to progress policy integration, environmental appraisal and greening operations.
Ministers are keen to find the best way of publicly reporting progress. We discussed a number of options and will reach a final view in the light of the forthcoming report on Greening Government by the Commons Environmental Audit Committee.
Green Ministers considered the role of sustainable development indicators. We welcomed the work that had already been done involving a large number of stakeholders both within and outside Government and emphasised the need to ensure that the links between economic, social and environmental areas are easily understood.
We also noted progress in implementing the green operations model policy and improvement programme and green transport plans. Now that these plans were in place Government Departments needed to play a leading role across the UK in helping green business operations.
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§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which Ministers attended the Third Meeting of Green Ministers; and which Ministers were represented by officials. [47781]
§ Mr. MeacherI chaired the third meeting of the group on 8 June 1998 and the following Green Ministers attended:
Department Green Minister Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Jeff Rooker MP Culture, Media and Sport Mark Fisher MP Defence John Spellar MP Environment, Transport and the Regions Glenda Jackson MP Foreign and Commonwealth Office Derek Fatchett MP Health Tessa Jowell MP Home Office Mike O'Brien MP Law Officers The Lord Falconer QC Lord Chancellor's Geoff Hoon MP Office of Public Service Peter Kilfoyle MP Social Security John Denham MP Trade and Industry John Battle MP Note:
The Scottish and Welsh Offices were represented by Henry MacLeish MP and Peter Hain MP respectively
The Chancellor's Departments, the Department for Education and Employment, the Department for International Development and the Northern Ireland Office were represented by officials.