HC Deb 19 July 1999 vol 335 cc390-1W
Mr. Burstow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list the non-departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that(a) have been disbanded, indicating when they were disbanded, (b) will be disbanded in the next 12 months, (c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c)(ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non-departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [90676]

Mr. Meale

The information requested is as follows:

  1. (a) Eleven executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) sponsored by this Department have been wound-up since 1 May 1997; nine Urban Development Corporations (UDCs)— Birmingham Heartlands, Black Country, London Docklands, Merseyside, Plymouth, Trafford Park, Teesside and Tyne & Wear, which were wound-up on 30 June 1998, and Sheffield which was wound-up on 30 June 1997; North Hull Housing Action Trust was wound-up on 28 February 1999; and the United Kingdom Ecolabelling Board was wound-up on 19 April 1999 and its functions were brought into DETR. In addition, the British Board of Agrement became an autonomous body, no longer classified as an NDPB, on 1 April 1999. Four advisory NDPBs have been wound up since 1 May 1997; the Assessment Panel for Construction Research wound up on 14 July 1997, the Advisory Committee on Plant and Machinery wound up on 14 May 1998, the Local Government Staff Commission (England) wound up on 12 May 1998, and the Export Action Group for Building Materials wound up on 31 May 1999.
  2. (b) The Rural Development Commission (RDC), which is non-operational at present, is due to be wound up in the Autumn of 1999.
  3. (c)(i) The RDC's programmes and most of its staff transferred to the Countryside Agency, which was formerly known as the Countryside Commission, and the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) on 1 April 1999; some of the functions and staff of English Partnerships also transferred to the RDAs on 1 April 1999; and the Commission for the New Towns was merged with English Partnerships, although the two bodies remain legally separate, on 1 April 1999 for operational purposes. (ii) No bodies have had their functions transferred to a democratically elected body.
  4. (d) Apart from the Countryside Agency, none have been renamed but continue to perform a similar function.
  5. (e) Details of other NDPBs in existence on 1 May 1997 sponsored by this Department are listed in "Public Bodies 1998".

Eight executive and six advisory NDPBs have been established since 1 May 1997. The eight executive bodies are the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs); One NorthEast, North West Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, Advantage West Midlands, East Midlands Development Agency, East of England Development Agency, South West of England Regional Development Agency and South East England Development Agency. The six advisory NDPBs are the Commission for Integrated Transport, the Committee on Chemicals and Materials on Construction for use in Public Water Supplies and Swimming Pools, the Expert Group on Airborne Particles, the Expert Group on Cryptosporidium in Water Supplies, the Expert Panel on Sustainable Development Education, and the Zoos Forum. In addition, Docklands Light Railway was reclassified as an executive NDPB on 1 April 1998 to enable it to receive grant-in-aid direct from the Department following the wind-up of London Docklands Development Corporation.

This Department currently sponsors 55 NDPBs—33 executive and 22 advisory bodies.

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