§ Baroness Nicolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 with regard to threatened or endangered species of wildlife, take account of that precautionary principle; and
Whether scientific data play a part in establishing the conservation status of British wildlife.
§ Baroness BlatchSection 24 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, requires the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to review Schedules 5 and 8 of the 1981 Act every five years. The JNCC may advise the Government at any time if, in the Committee's opinion, any animal or plant should be added to or removed from the relevant schedule. There are no restrictions on the factors the JNCC may take into account in formulating its advice but it seeks to apply the highest scientific standards. The JNCC is required to publish the advice given and the reasons for it in its annual report.