§ Mr. Harry BarnesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department received the Commission report SEC(91) 958 final on the Corine programme concerning the gathering, co-ordination and standardisation of information on the environment and national resources in the EC; and if he will make a statement on the programme's effects in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. BaldryA copy of the final Commission report was received by my Department in early June 1991.
The Corine programme has resulted in improved co-ordination in the environmental information field between all EC member states. In particular, common methodologies have been developed, and some data collection procedures established, thus enabling progress to be made towards a decentralised Community-wide environmental information system. These developments will contribute to the formulation and monitoring of EC environmental policy.