§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which operating authorities have not updated their Shoreline Management Plans in line with High Level Target 8. [89750]
§ Margaret BeckettThe target is for relevant operating authorities to have in place, and provide to DEFRA, a programme for updating Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) in accordance with DEFRA guidance. Further to full consultation, DEFRA has provided revised SMP guidance reflecting the experience gained in producing the original plans. This will be supplemented later this year with more working guidance which is being produced by DEFRA alongside the first three updated SMPs. All the relevant authorities have advised DEFRA of their proposed starting dates for updating SMPs and these are being made available publicly on the DEFRA website.