The Natural Environment White Paper: oral & written evidence

Oral evidence

Witnesses will include representatives from the National Trust, Wildlife and Countryside Link, the National Farmers’ Union, PwC, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) and DEFRA.

The public are welcome to attend this meeting which will take place in a committee room in the House of Commons at 3.00pm. Visitors should check the exact location nearer the time on http://services.parliament.uk/calendar/.

Written Evidence

To help inform this session, the Committee invites any interested party to submit in writing by Tuesday 21 June their brief comments (500 words maximum) setting out initial reactions to the Natural Environment White Paper, focussing in particular on:

• Any key elements in the White Paper which are supported;
• Any particular sections which could be improved;
• Any omissions from the White Paper which Defra should rectify.

In addition, the Committee welcomes suggestions for issues it may wish to include in terms of reference for a possible future Select Committee inquiry into detailed aspects of the White Paper.

Notes on the submission of written evidence

Submissions should be in Word or rich text format and sent by e-mail to efracom@parliament.uk.  The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from.

Submissions must address the matters outlined above. They should be as brief as possible, and no more than 500 words.  Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference. 

Committees make public much of the evidence they receive during inquiries. If you do not wish your submission to be published, you must clearly say so. If you wish to include private or confidential information in your submission to the Committee, please contact the Clerk of the Committee to discuss this. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.

Personal information, such as address and contact details, should be provided separately from the body of your submission. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted, no public use should be made of the submission unless you have first obtained permission from the Committee.

For further details about this inquiry, please contact Sarah Coe, Environment Specialist on 020 7219 2290.