To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to reach conclusions about measures necessary to conserve peatlands; if he is satisfied that the current options offer sufficient scope to accommodate both continued peat extraction and conservation; and if he will make a statement.

The noble Lord Reay's response to the debate on peatland issues, which took place in another place on 9 May 1990, indicated that there were a considerable number of matters to be addressed. Work on these is progressing both in my Department and elsewhere, but information on some key aspects is not yet available. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State hopes to be able to make a statement about measures necessary to conserve peatlands during the first half of 1991.