§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) whether the proposed joint committee for nature conservation will assume responsibility for the peatland resource survey currently being undertaken by the Nature Conservancy Council;
(2) whether the proposed joint committee for nature conservation will have a responsibility for establishing the criteria for identifying and safeguarding blanket and raised peatland bogs of national or international importance.
§ Mr. Trippier[holding answer 29 June 1990]: The main duties and responsibilities of the joint committee were set out in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment to my hon. Friend the Member for Wyre (Mr. Mans) on 23 November 1989, Official Report, columns 16–17. The committee will be responsible for establishing guidelines to assist the county councils in designating sites of special scientific interest and sites of national or international importance for nature conservation. Proposals for the detailed programme of work to be undertaken or overseen by the committee are currently being drawn up in consultation with the Nature Conservancy Council and the other Government Departments involved.