Sites of Special Scientific Interest

HC Deb 28 June 1988 vol 136 c219W

51. Mr. Morley

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he last met the Nature Conservancy Council to discuss sites of special scientific interest within Ministry of Defence land and training areas.

Mr. Freeman

I have not met the Nature Conservancy Council to discuss sites of special scientific interest on Ministry of Defence land. The Ministry of Defence conservation officer and PSA estate surveyors hold regular meetings with NCC officials representing the headquarters of Great Britain, England, Scotland and Wales. In addition, local NCC representatives attend MOD conservation group meetings to advise MOD officers on the management of the 179 sites of special scientific interest on MOD land.

The MOD and the NCC signed a mutual declaration of intent in January 1988 to establish a formal code of practice for SSSI management.