§ Mr. EtheringtonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans she has to ensure that additional resources will be made available to(a) English Nature, (b) the Countryside Council for Wales, (c) the Nature Conservation Committee and (d) Scottish Natural Heritage for the designation and management of special areas of conservation in accordance with the EC habitants and species directive 43/92/EEC.
§ Mr. AtkinsI have been asked to reply.
Grant-in-aid to English Nature for the financial year 1994–95 will be £40.4 million, an increase of 6.5 per cent. over 1993–94. Scottish Natural Heritage will receive £39.9 million and the Countryside Council for Wales £20.6 million, increases of 10.4 per cent. and 3.8 per cent. respectively. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee receives its funding from the grants-in-aid made to the other nature conservation agencies, but the level of their funding for 1994–95 has not yet been determined. Resources made available to all the agencies responsible 79W for countryside and nature conservation have increased by over 240 per cent. in real terms over the past 10 years. The Secretaries of State for the Environment, Scotland and Wales have asked nature conservation agencies to give implementation of the habitats directive the highest priority for available resources.