§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she(a) has made and (b) plans to make of the role and impact of the sustainability fund in England; how this fund will operate; and if she will make a statement. [53714]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government have consulted widely on the role and impact of the sustainability fund. In August 2000 we consulted on the objectives of the fund and, in broad terms, the best use of resources. A second consultation paper, in October 2001, invited comments on proposals for the operation and distribution of the fund in England. A summary of responses is on my Department's website.
I announced final decisions on the distribution of the fund on 10 April. It will be distributed through the Countryside Agency, English Heritage, English Nature, WRAP, DTI's Construction Innovation and Research Management Programme, DTLR's Planning Research 826W programme, Clean Up programme and Freight Facilities Grant. It will run for two years initially, with £29.3 million available each year.
Monitoring and review arrangements will be put in place to assess the impact of the fund and help inform future decisions on how the fund works. The fund aims to reduce damage to the environment from extracting aggregates by reducing the demand for primary aggregates, promoting more environmentally friendly extraction and transport and reducing the effect of local aggregate extraction.