§ Lord Shackletonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are able to make a statement on the setting up of a Committee of Inquiry into the handling of geographic information in the United Kingdom, as agreed in the Government's response (Cmnd. 9320) to the first Report of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology on Remote Sensing and Digital Mapping.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (The Earl of Avon)The Committee of Inquiry has now been established. Its terms of reference are:
"To advise the Secretary of State for the Environment within two years on the future handling of geographic information in the United Kingdom, taking account of modern developments in information technology and of markets needs".
I am pleased to announce that Lord Chorley has been appointed as chairman of the committee, and Mr. Walter Smith, who retires in March from his present position as Director General of the Ordnance Survey, is to be deputy chairman. The remaining members of the committee will be appointed shortly and the committee will begin its work in April.