asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what initiatives are planned by the Overseas Development Administration to mark the European Year of the Environment.

To underline the importance of the environmental factor in economic development, I have suggested that the subject should be on the agenda of the Development Council of the European Community in May. I have allocated £60,000 towards the cost of the sustainable development conference organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development and the World Bank in April and I plan to publish a booklet at the same time to describe in detail the way in which we take account of environmental factors in the British aid programme.