Dr. Tony WrightTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will publish a list of (1) task forces and (2) policy reviews established by his Department since May 1997 which(a) had external members recruited by way of public advertisement, and details of any person so appointed and (b) engaged in public consultation exercises, and the form that these took. [74455]
§ Mr. HoonMost task forces and reviews are short-term bodies established to give thorough consideration to important and difficult issues. External members are invited to sit on some reviews and task forces because they are able to contribute specific experience and expertise. In such cases, public advertising would be inappropriate and disproportionate. Of the task forces and reviews set up by my Department, none of them recruited external members by way of public advertising.
On 25 March 1998, the Lord Chancellor announced a Review of Enforcement of Civil Court Judgments. The Review involves external members but they were not recruited by way of public advertisement. An initial public consultation paper was issued in June 1998 to a wide range of organisations with an interest in enforcement.
Since 1 October 1998, appointments to those task forces which qualify for classification as advisory non-departmental public bodies have come within the remit of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.