§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what length of hedgerow has been lost in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979. [12483]
§ Mr. MossResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Environment and Heritage Service under its chief executive, Mr. Robert C. Martin. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Robert C. Martin to Dr. Gavin Strang, dated 24 January 1997:
As Chief Executive of Environment and Heritage Service, I am responsible for all operational aspects of the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland's environment policies.I am therefore responding to the Parliamentary Question which you put down in the House of Commons on 22 January 1997:to ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what length of hedgerow has been lost in Northern Ireland in each year since 1979.The Northern Ireland Countryside Survey 1990 indicated the amount of hedgerow existing at that date, and it will not be until the results of the second such survey are available that any comparisons will be possible. This survey is currently planned for the year 2000.I therefore regret that I am unable to provide you with the information you seek.