§ Alan SimpsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice she has given the Environment Agency about ethical and sustainable investment of its pension fund. [90143]
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what guidance she has given to the Environment Agency on the investments made by its pension fund. [90244]
§ Mr. LeslieI have been asked to reply.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is responsible for the regulatory framework governing the Local Government Pension Scheme, to which the Environment Agency belongs. The investment practice of the agency's pension funds is a matter for their fund managers, supervised by the relevant investment committee, within the regulatory framework set out in SI 1998 No 1831 (the Local Government Pension Scheme (Management and Investment of Funds) Regulations 1998), as amended. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no authority to offer specific advice or guidance on what individual investments should or should not be made.
§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost of(a) setting up and (b) running the Environment Agency website, 'What's in Your Backyard' is; how many users on average it has attracted per month; and if she will make a statement. [92796]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Environment Agency spent £245,000 in setting up its 'What's in Your Backyard' site, and it incurs running costs of £215,000 per annum.
The website attracts an average of 35,000 users monthly.