§ Mr. Peter AinsworthTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what procedures his Department has to ensure environmental appraisals are undertaken prior to(a) administrative and (b) policy decisions being made; [28986]
(2) how many officials from his Department have attended the environmental appraisal and integration into policy training course run by the Civil Service College; [28988]
(3) when the last occasion was on an which he requested an environmental appraisal before making a policy decision; [28985]
(4) how many environmental appraisals have been published by his Department since 1 January 2001; and if he will list the last four; [28984]
(5) what plans his Department has to appraise the environmental implications of its Spending Review submission to the Treasury. [28987]
§ Dr. WhiteheadMy right hon. Friend receives environmental advice on all policy decisions for which environmental issues are relevant.
In 1998, the former Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published "Policy Appraisal and the Environment: Policy Guidance" which gave advice to Departments on when and how to carry out an environmental appraisal.
The guidance made clear that environmental appraisal is part of the overall policy appraisal process. Accordingly, my Department does not now generally publish free-standing environmental appraisal documents. Environmental implications of the Department's policies and programmes are, where appropriate, set out in the various consultation documents and regulatory impact assessments that form part of our overall consideration of policy.
In terms of administrative actions, our activities are governed by the Department's greening operations policy statement, published on the DTLR website in December 2001. Proposals for specific projects are assessed in respect of operational need, compliance with policy, environmental benefit, and value for money.
Since the publication of the 1998 policy guidance, my Department, with others, has been developing an integrated policy appraisal methodology which will be used to assess the likely effect of proposed policies on a range of economic, environmental and social issues. My Department is using a summary version of the methodology to consider the sustainable development 575W implications of our Spending Review submission to the Treasury. Beyond the Spending Review process, and in the light of further development of the methodology, we hope to use the methodology to ensure that full account is taken of all relevant economic, environmental and social factors before policy decisions are made.
No officials from my Department have so far attended the environmental appraisal and integration into policy training course run by the Civil Service College.