§ Mr. PlaskittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress the Prison Service has made towards improving its environmental performance; and if he will make a statement. [4474]
§ Beverley HughesThe Prison Service is making good progress in this area. A formal greening operations policy was introduced in March 2000, the implementation of which is being overseen by a headquarters working group chaired by a member of the Prison Service management board.
During the last year, there have been many developments in areas such as biodiversity, energy efficiency, procurement, transport and waste management. These are described in the service's first annual environmental report which is published today, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
The Director General of the Prison Service has made clear his own personal commitment to improving the environmental performance of the service and a challenging programme of further work—detailed in the report—has been set for the current year.