§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the variations in the duration of sunlight in the United Kingdom since 1977. [10951]
§ Mr. George HowarthFollowing a preliminary survey in 1987, the Home Office commissioned a survey of interest groups in 1988 into options for summer time arrangements. The views of respondents and the arguments that were advanced were reviewed in the 1989 Green Paper "Summer Time: A Consultation Document", Cm 722.
Responses to the Green Paper showed that there was a lack of consensus about the merits of the United Kingdom moving to central European time, also known as single/double summer time. A private Member's Bill, The British Time (Extra Daylight) Bill, which would have achieved such a move did not attract enough support for a Second Reading when it was debated on 19 January 1996. The debate illustrated the strength of feeling and diversity of opinion on the issue.