To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those coastal and offshore sites which his Department is considering for inclusion on a list of special areas of conservation under the EC habitats directive; and if he will place in the Library a map identifying them.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is co-ordinating work of the statutory nature conservation agencies in identifying candidates for the United Kingdom national list of sites under the habitats directive. It is not yet in a position to make recommendations.