§ 103. Mr. Sutcliffeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many meetings Mr. Stevenson's Working Party on voluntary organisations has held with individuals and organisations to determine their views.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerMr. Stevenson and members of his working party have collected written evidence from some 250 persons and organisations. They have interviewed many hundreds of people up and down the country, and Mr. Stevenson has himself made three tours, each of three to four days' duration. The first was to the South-West of England and to Wales, the second to the North of England, and the third to Scotland. In addition, he has set up research projects involving social science students at various universities, and he is conducting a national sample survey of local authorities on the subjects for which he is responsible. He has held a number of half-day meetings at the Department of the Environment, and he has had more than 30 more informal meetings with members of his group.
I know that the House would wish to thank Mr. Stevenson for the vigour with which he has tackled this task.