§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action he proposes to take to complete the early designations of areas of special scientific interest; and whether he has set a target date for completion.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Environment Committee, in its recent report on environmental issues in Northern Ireland, recommended that sufficient resources be allocated to ensure that the process of ASSI designation can be completed within eight years. I am at present examining the recommendations in this report. The Government's response to the report will take the form of a Command Paper and I would not wish to pre-empt that response at this stage.