§ Mrs. BrintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many of the(a) Bills and (b) draft Bills in the Queen's Speech have had an environmental appraisal undertaken of them. [147317]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government's policy is that significant environmental costs and benefits should be identified alongside economic and social considerations, during policy development or review. All Departments have procedures for screening their policies for378W environmental impacts and the systems in place are detailed in Chapter 4 of "Greening Government", the Second Annual Report of the Green Ministers Committee 2000, published in November last year.
On DETR measures mentioned in the Queen's Speech there has, as yet, been no environmental appraisal for the Homes Bill. It is proposed that seller's packs, introduced as a result of the Bill, will include information on the energy efficiency of homes and this should lead to improvements by buyers that benefit the environment. An environmental appraisal will be carried out when the contents of seller's packs have been determined, following consultation with interested parties.
Our initial assessment of the proposals for the draft Safety Bill suggests there is no need for an environmental appraisal. If, as the proposals develop, it becomes apparent that there is an effect on the environment, we will review the position.
DETR also has the lead interest in the leasehold elements of the Lord Chancellor's Commonhold and Leasehold Bill. These relate to the respective rights and obligations of residential long leaseholders and their freeholders, which carry no environmental implications.