New inquiry launch on Biodiversity offsetting
1 October 2013
The Environmental Audit Committee has launched a new inquiry into the Government consultation on Biodiversity offsetting in England, which proposes to introduce a system for allowing biodiversity loss associated with developments to be measured and offset against compensatory biodiversity gain elsewhere.
This inquiry will contribute to a wider ongoing inquiry by the Committee on Well-being. In that inquiry we have already taken evidence from Prof Dieter Helm (PDF 180.62 KB), chair of the Natural Capital Committee, which included some discussion of the scope for biodiversity offsetting.
The Committee will take oral evidence on 23 October 2013 (details will be announced later), and is inviting written evidence on the Government’s proposals by Tuesday 15 October 2013, although later submissions may also be accepted.
Submitting written evidence
As part of a scheme to encourage paperless working and maximise efficiency, the Committee is piloting a new web portal for online submission of written evidence. Written submissions for this inquiry should therefore be submitted online.
The personal information you supply will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 for the purposes of attributing the evidence you submit and contacting you as necessary in connection with its processing. The Clerk of the House of Commons is the data controller for the purposes of the Act. We may also ask you to comment on the process of submitting evidence via the web portal so that we can look to make improvements. If you have any queries or concerns about the collection and use of this information or do not wish your details to be used for the purpose of collecting feedback, please advise the Committee providing your full name, address, and if relevant your organisation.
The Committee invites written submissions by Tuesday 15 October 2013.
Each submission should:
1. be in Word format with as little use of colour or logos as possible
2. have numbered paragraphs
3. include a declaration of any interests.
Please note that
- Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included.
- Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised.
- Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.
- Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.