New Forest Committee (Hansard, 16 February 1995)

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the 1994–95 budget of the New Forest committee; and how it is funded.

§ Mr. Atkins
The New Forest committee budget for 1994–95 is £114.500, of which £20,000 is provided by the Department of the Environment and a contribution of up to £18,900 is paid by each of the Forestry Commission,808W English Nature, the Countryside Commission, New Forest district council and Hampshire county council.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the actual expenditure of the New Forest committee in 1993–94.

§ Mr. Atkins
A total of £109,300.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the boundaries of the proposed New Forest heritage area have now been decided; and if he will place definitive maps in the Library.

§ Mr. Atkins
The boundary of the proposed wider New Forest heritage area will emerge from the preparation and adoption of local plans. Proposals to define the boundary are being carried forward in four local plans in the New Forest district—the Avon valley, the Forest and Downlands villages and the New Forest, east—together with the Salisbury district plan and the Test valley borough plan.
Copies of the local plans will be deposited in the Department of the Environment's library.

§ Mr. Key
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will define the duties of(a) the New Forest committee and (b) the New Forest consultative panel.

§ Mr. Atkins
The New Forest committee's terms of reference include the promotion of the conservation of the traditional character of the New Forest heritage area; the review of action to maintain the balance of natural and socio-economic forces which determine its character; and the preparation and promotion of a strategy for co-ordinated management of the area.
The New forest consultative panel has a membership of 71 organisations to include representatives from the whole of the wider New forest heritage area. It is administered by the New Forest Committee, and contributes to the committee's task of ensuring that its members are working together to promote the conservation of the traditional character of the forest. It encourages monitoring of the practical effects of policies or initiatives carried out in the forest.