§ Lord Sandfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will now publish the report by Laurence Gould Consultants Ltd on the operation of the financial guidelines for management agreements under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
§ The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Elton)Yes, it has always been our intention to publish this report. We had planned to do so at the same time as we were able to announce our preliminary conclusions on it. This entails a great deal of detailed work and technical consideration. We had made clear before some recent misconceived press comment that we expect to publish the report, and our observations, so we could consult appropriately. In the light, however, of the press comment we have decided it would be right to publish the Gould Report forthwith. The Government intend to consult shortly both on the report and on their own preliminary conclusions.