§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for answering for the actions of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee; and if he will publish a table showing the resource allocations to England, Scotland and Wales and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee for 1991–92 as compared with the recommendations in the Inbucon report.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Joint Nature Conservation Committee is a committee of all three country councils262W each of which is answerable to its own territorial Secretary of State for all its functions, including those exercised through the JNCC. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment would normally expect to take the lead in answering any questions about the committee.
The predecessor of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment announced on 9 November that the grant in aid to the Nature Conservancy Council for England (NCCE) in 1991–92 had been set provisionally at £32.411 million. Announcements about the grant in aid to be provided to the new agencies in Scotland and Wales will be made shortly by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and for Wales respectively.
The Inbucon report was commissioned by the Nature Conservancy Council to assist it in preparing its proposed forward plans. It was made available on request by the council in October. The figures contained in the report are therefore already available for examination.