HC Deb 05 July 1999 vol 334 c368W
Mr. Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which non-departmental public bodies do not have aims or objectives under the public service agreements, related to environmental protection or environmentally sustainable development; and if he will list them. [88909]

Mr. Meale

The Green Ministers Committee has reviewed how departments and their associated bodies (including non-departmental public bodies) take account of sustainable development in their aims and objectives. The first annual report of the Green Ministers Committee is due to be published in July 1999 and will set out the findings of this review. As part of this review non-departmental public bodies sponsored by my Department have been advised of the Government's policy on sustainable development, including the environmental protection aspects of the policy. They have been encouraged to include their plans for sustainable development in their corporate plans and work is in hand to discuss with them their scope for contributing further to the policy. Many of the Department's non-departmental public bodies do contain environmental matters as part of their aims and objectives and we are considering whether all our non-departmental public bodies should have an environmental policy on which they should report.

Mr. Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which Government Departments do not have aims or objectives, under the public service agreements, relating to environmental protection or environmentally sustainable development. [88908]

Mr. Meale

Each Department's Public Service Agreement was set out in the document "Public Services for the Future: Modernisation, Reform, Accountability" which was presented to Parliament by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in December 1998. The Green Ministers Committee has since then reviewed the aims and objectives of Departments in terms of how sustainable development and the environment are addressed. We will set out our findings and the background in the first annual report of the Green Ministers Committee which is due to be published in July 1999.