Written question asked by Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Thursday, 8 December 2005.

Timber Procurement

Question: Why the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs plans a sample assessment rather than a full report of timber procurement, given that in the 2002 Framework for Sustainable Development the department stated that ““a cross government report cannot substitute for comprehensive performance reporting by individual departments””.

Answer: Individual departments are required to report annually on their timber purchases as part of Sustainable Development in Government Reports. Some observers have suggested that the data being reported are not adequate to effectively measure the Government’s performance on implementing their timber procurement policy. In considering their response to these observations the Government want to establish how accurate the data being reported are, what value they have, what other options should be considered and what the costs and benefits would be. The sample assessment will indicate how accurate the currently reported data are and what is involved in collecting it. It is considered unnecessary to produce a costly and time-consuming report on all departments to obtain this information.

Secondary information