§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures his Department has to ensure environmental appraisals are undertaken prior to(a) administrative and (b) policy decisions being made. [29045]
§ Dr. MoonieMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence signed a policy statement dated 7 July 2000 on the Management of Safety and Environmental Protection in the Ministry of Defence. That policy statement requires that, within the United Kingdom, the MOD will carry out environmental policy appraisals of all new and revised policies and equipment acquisition programmes and environmental impact assessments of all new projects and training activities.
The policy statement, together with guidance on the conduct of environmental appraisal and environmental impact assessment, has been published recently as part of Amendment 4 to Joint Service Publication (JSP) 418, the MOD's Environmental Manual.
Copies of JSP 418 are in the Library of the House, and arrangements are in hand for copies of Amendment 4 to that publication to be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the last occasion was on which he requested an environmental appraisal before making a policy decision. [29044]
§ Dr. MoonieI will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials from his Department have attended the environmental appraisal and integration into policy training course run by the Civil Service College. [29047]
§ Dr. MoonieNo officials from the Ministry of Defence attended the first environmental appraisal and integration into policy training course run by the Civil Service College in July 2001. Details of this course, and others provided by the Civil Service College to support the initiatives of sustainable development, have now been published as part of Amendment 4 to JSP 418, the MOD's Environmental Manual.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many environmental appraisals have been published by his Department since 1 January 2001; and if he will list the last four. [29043]
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§ Dr. MoonieNone. The last environmental appraisal published by the Ministry of Defence was the Strategic Environmental Appraisal of the Strategic Defence Review. This document was published in June 2000.
§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to appraise the environmental implications of its Spending Review submission to the Treasury. [29046]
§ Dr. MoonieSustainable development has been identified as an overall theme for the Spending Review. In common with all other Government Departments with a Public Service Agreement, the Ministry of Defence will be reporting on the impact of its Spending Review proposals on sustainable development. That appraisal process will take an integrated approach to the environmental, social and economic elements of sustainable development.