§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what criteria the Nature Conservancy Council uses in the selection of sites of special scientific interest; in what circumstances the Nature Conservancy Council would not proceed to notify as sites of special scientific interest land that meets those scientific criteria; if the Nature Conservancy Council has the same policy towards the notification of sites of special scientific interest in England, Wales and Scotland; and if he will make a statement on the workings of section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 as it affects the notification of new sites of special interest.
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§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe Nature Conservancy Council has a duty under section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act to notify sites of special scientific interest. A copy of the selection criteria used by the NCC has been placed in the Library of the House. These criteria are applied consistently throughout Great Britain. The Government recognise that there are problems associated with the operation of S28 of the 1981 Act, particularly the lack of safeguards during the three-month period in which objections or representations concerning a proposed notification may be made. We are currently considering how best to strengthen the procedures for protecting SSSIs.
§ Dr. Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Ouse and Derwent internal drainage board has submitted an application to pump-drain land at North Duffield Cans, a part of the Derwent Ings site of special scientific interest; if he will state the reasons for the site's notification as a site of special scientific interest; and whether it qualifies for listing under the Ramsar convention as a wetland site of international importance.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe Ouse and Derwent internal drainage board have recently re-activated an application for grant aid for a pump drainage scheme for North Duffield Cans. The application is being considered by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. In reaching his decision, he will be giving careful consideration to all the relevant factors, including those put forward by the conservation interests, and will be consulting me before the decision is made. The maim features of scientific interest in the site are the presence of four discrete neutral grassland types and the use made of the area by breeding, passage and wintering wildfowl and waders. The site has been formally proposed by the Nature Conservancy Council for listing under the Ramsar convention as a wetland of international importance.