§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent measures her Department has taken to ensure that the National Building Standards (Government Works) standard has been amended to reflect Government policy on timber procurement; and if she will make a statement. [77673]
§ Mr. MeacherMy officials contacted the National Building Specification, a trading name of RIBA Enterprises Ltd., on 1 October drawing their attention to the timber scoping study report (published on the internet at http://www.forestforum.org.uk), and asking them to consider reviewing the NBS (Government712W Works) standard format to reflect Government policy on its own timber procurement. The Government committed Departments and their agencies in July 2000 actively to seek to procure their timber and timber products from legal and sustainably managed sources.
The National Building Specification does not contain specification clauses for the procurement of timber. It is left to the specifier to decide the content of the specification because currently, NBS considers the issue of sustainability complex, imprecise and the subject of conflicting information. However, general guidance to the National Building Specification refers to advice from the Forests Forever Campaign, that was established in 1990 by the Timber Trade Federation. This says: "…as yet there is no internationally agreed definition of, or accepted criteria for, 'sustainability'. At present a supplier may only be able to provide evidence that timber comes from a 'sustained yield' source i.e. managed to provide a continuous supply of timber…".
NBS is compiling a dossier on the subject of timber procurement and has agreed to meet officials to discuss the issue. In the meantime, we have asked Government Departments to ensure that anyone employed by Government on any construction, maintenance or supplies contract is made aware that the Government's policy on timber procurement should be complied with when drawing up specifications. This message will be reinforced by an Information Note to be issued by the Office of Government Commerce shortly.