The Parliamentary Secretariat for Tourism, the Environment and Culture refers to the unsigned item entitled Environment No Longer The Cinderella Of Development (March 4), which reported the start of the debate of the proposed Environment and Development Planning Bill at second reading stage.

In the sixth paragraph, the report states that "Mepa's Forward Planning Unit would now be transferred to a new policy unit in the Office of the Prime Minister. The authority would lose its function of setting policy".

At no stage did Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco state this in his opening speech. When referring to the new unit within the Office of the Prime Minister, namely the Strategy Development Unit (SDU), Dr de Marco said that the SDU would be responsible for coordinating the strategic direction of the government between the various ministries and authorities. The SDU's focus would not be limited to planning and the environment but would cover all sectors including that of the economy, education, social affairs and health as to ensure better coordination, enabling the country to reach its targets. At no stage did Dr de Marco refer to Mepa's Forward Planning Unit. Mepa's Forward Planning Unit, in fact, will remain within Mepa. Moreover, at no stage did Dr de Marco state that Mepa would lose its function of developing and drafting policy in the sectors falling under its remit. Mepa remains the technical body in this area.