§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what has been the total cost of running the Nature Conservancy Council, including all main constituent costs of any sort, such as expenditure on its own programmes, wages, rent, heating and lighting and maintenance in the latest 12 months for which figures are available; and what are the projected costs for 1978–79.
§ Mr. ShoreThe accounts for 1976–77 included in the Nature Conservancy Council's latest annual report show expenditure of £5,028,000.
For 1977–78 the provisional figure will be £6,142,000.
The present approved estimated cost for 1978–79 is £6.4 million. I shall be seeking the approval of Parliament to increase this to £8 million. An announcement will be made later about appropriate cash block adjustments.