§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many environmental appraisals were produced by his Department using the guidance contained in the Department of the Environment's "Policy Appraisal and the Environment" in 1995; and if he will place copies in the Library. [15119]
§ Mr. HowardThere is currently no formal monitoring system for environmental appraisals carried out by my Department. However, I understand that the Department of the Environment proposes shortly to commission a project to evaluate the effect of its policy appraisal and the environment document on decision making by Government Departments. The project will seek to identify how far environmental impacts are taken into account in policy decisions.