HC Deb 23 July 1996 vol 282 cc315-6W
Mr. Robathan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he intends to publish a discussion paper on the household projections. [39664]

Mr. Gummer

I have been delighted by the substantial response to the widened debate I initiated at Brighton in June and which my right hon. Friend the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Urban Regeneration and my hon. Friend the Minister for Planning, Construction and Energy Efficiency have been taking forward subsequently. I now wish to give careful consideration to the views and ideas that have emerged and to reflect these in the discussion paper. The paper and ensuing debate would also benefit from the outcome of a number of important research projects, being carried out both by this Department and by others, which have a significant bearing on this issue and some of which will not be complete or ready for consideration until the autumn. I therefore propose to publish the paper along with the main findings of the relevant research after Parliament resumes later this year.