§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the joint guidance issued by DEFRA and Her Majesty's Treasury, through the Office of Government Commerce, on Environmental Issues in Purchasing has been updated to take account of Government requirements that all timber purchased by Departments comes from legal and sustainable sources; and if she will make a statement. [83929]
§ Mr. MeacherOGC and Defra have agreed to revise their joint note on "Environmental issues in procurement" to reflect the Commission's interpretative communications on environmental and social issues and other developments such as the new EC procurement directive. It will also refer to new initiatives such as the Government's committed aim to procure its timber and timber products from legal and sustainably managed sources. Advice on the timber procurement strategy is currently given in Section 3 of the Green Guide for Buyers which, with other advice, is on the "Sustainable Development in Government" website. URL: development.gov.uk/sdig/improving/contextf.htm.
This will also be updated. My officials have also provided Departments with a model specification clause for inclusion in contracts for timber procurement.