§ Mr. SteenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to implement the EC directive on the conservation of flora and fauna and habitats in the United Kingdom; and what additional resources he estimates will be required for this purpose.
§ Mr. MacleanThe United Kingdom's current nature protection provisions give this country a firm basis for implementation of the directive. We are considering what further provisions are necessary to enable the directive to come fully into force within the two years prescribed.
At the same time the Government's scientific advisers are working on the criteria for site selection as the first step towards compiling the United Kingdom's national list of candidate sites to be considered as sites of Community importance.
The resource requirements for implementation over the next few years will be discussed with the country agencies and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee in the context of the normal corporate planning and grant in aid allocation processes.