HL Deb 02 November 1998 vol 594 cc10-1WA
Viscount Hanworth

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will respond to the report by the UK Round Table on Sustainable Development on Integrating Biodiversity into Management Systems. [HL3639]

Lord Whitty

We have published our response to the report by the UK Round Table on Sustainable Development.

The Government response to Integrating Biodiversity into Management Systems is positive and accepts the thrust of the Round Table's recommendations. In particular, it welcomes recommendations on keeping business abreast of biodiversity work, nationally and locally; on taking account of biodiversity in the various pollution control regimes, and on giving biodiversity an appropriate weighting in the accreditation of environmental management systems.

We wish to express our gratitude to Sir Richard Southwood and the Round Table for their valuable work in helping to identify new ways to take forward sustainable development.

I am placing copies of the response in the Library.