§ Mr. Spenceasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, and say what progress is being made by, the several committees studying mineral resources and extraction in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OakesMy right hon. Friend and the Secrtaries of State for Scotland and Wales expect to receive early next year the report of the Committee on Minerals Planning Control which has been examining the statutory provisions under which planning control is exercisable over surface mineral workers in Great Britain.
The Advisory Committee on Aggregates, which has been considering a range of questions on the supply of, and demand for, aggregates in Great Britain, including their transportation and the use of alternative materials, is expected to report in the spring of 1975. A preliminary report of this committee was published in 1973.
In addition a number of local authority working parties have been examining the short-term supply and demand position for sand and gravel in South-East England. Their reports are made to and published by the Standing Conference on London and South-East Regional Planning. Local authority working parties on aggregates are being established on a regional basis elsewhere in the country.