ILLEGAL LOGGING (No. 2)

Early day motion 323, tabled 16 December 2008 by John Leech (Liberal Democrat). Signed by 47 members.

That this House welcomes the recent publication of the Environmental Investigation Agency's Buyer Beware report into UK sales of wood sourced from illegally logged trees; is deeply concerned that the current system of industry self-regulation is not effective in preventing the use of such wood in new and existing UK building developments; regrets that consumers often lack adequate information to make truly informed choices when purchasing timber products; praises those retailers and suppliers who ensure that they can trace the origins of their timber products; calls on all retailers and suppliers to ensure that their timber products are sourced from legal and sustainable sources; calls on the Government to make it an offence knowingly to sell or distribute timber products derived from illegal logging; further calls on the Government to take the lead in securing concerted efforts within the European Union to regulate the importation of illegally-sourced timber products, as has happened in the United States; and further calls on the Government to promote its own public procurement policy for timber products to other industries as industry best practice.

Signatures by party: Labour 22, Liberal Democrat 19, Conservative 2, Plaid Cymru 2, Scottish National Party 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1.