§ Mr. WigginTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of the Government's total procurement of materials and products comprised recycled products in each year since 1997; and what the projections are for(a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005. [142593]
§ Mr. MorleyFigures on recycled products and materials bought by the Government are not collected centrally and doing so would incur a disproportionate cost. In regards to the Government's current position on buying recycled paper products, I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty) on 4 December 2003,Official Report, column 146W. Data on recycled paper bought by Government is available in the "Sustainable Development in Government" and "Greening Government" reports, which are available online at www. sustainable-development.gov.uk/sdig/reports/index.htm. Copies are also available in the Library.
Government is currently developing sustainable procurement targets under the "Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate". The targets and online guidance will be published by Spring next year.