§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when the inquiries into the legality and sustainability of the timber used on the Home Office construction site at 2 Marsham street will take place; whether the results of the inquiry will be published; and if he will make a statement; [119470]
(2) what efforts are being made to ensure that all future timber used on the construction site at 2 Marsham street will be from legal and sustainable sources; [119471]
(3) upon what evidence his Department has relied to ensure that timber used at the Home Office construction site at 2 Marsham street has come from legal and sustainable sources; and if he will make a statement. [119505]
828W
§ Fiona MactaggartNo timber has been supplied so far for use in the new Home Office building. The developer has informed us that timber has been purchased by their sub-contractors for their use during construction in performing their obligations under the construction contract. This timber comprises 217 m3 of which 46 per cent. are softwoods from France, and the remainder plywood 30 per cent. from Indonesia, 23 per cent. Brazil and 1 per cent. Finland. In addition 2,917 pieces of sawn softwood have been sourced from forests in Austria. All this timber has been legally imported with UK Customs clearance.
The timber from Austria and Finland had PEFC (Pan European Forestry Certification—European Ecologic Norms). The timber from France came from a forest with a sustainable forest management programme. Plywood from Indonesia and Brazil was legally imported but the developer has not yet been able to supply information about the exact sources within these countries. The plywood from Finland was a trial purchase of sustainable plywood sources made by the developer's sub-contractors seeking an alternative to tropical sources.
On 6 June the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs issued a clarification to Departments that it was policy to monitor the sourcing of timber purchased and used by contractors in the construction process, as well as timber purchased for use in the new building. The contract will in future be administered to include monitoring of the legal and sustainable sources of such timber.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Beverly Hughes) on 13 May 2003, Official Report, column 221W, on timber. An undertaking was given to place in the Library copies of certificates for the sustainable and legal timber sourcing. This is being done in respect of the Austrian, Finnish and French timber. Those from Brazil and Indonesia will be provided as soon as they are received from the developer.
I am satisfied that arrangements are in place to ensure that all future timber purchases whether for use in the construction process or for use in the new building will be shown to be obtained from legal and sustainable sources. The developer has informed us that it intends that no further plywood for use in 2 Marsham street will be sourced from Indonesia.