Nature Conservancy Council (Hansard, 25 July 1990)

§ Mrs. Ann Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what consideration has been given to establishing a consultation mechanism between the Nature Conservancy Council and interested parties, including sea fisheries committees and harbour authorities in relation to coastal and marine areas of high nature conservation interest.

§ Mr. Trippier
The Nature Conservancy Council is already consulted on a wide range of matters affecting 365W coastal and marine areas of nature conservation interest. Nevertheless, there are a large number of conflicting interests, which raise complex legal issues, and the Government are therefore actively considering the possibility of voluntary consultation arrangements for sensitive marine areas.

§ Mr. Morley
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the consultancy studies currently being carried out in relation to the proposed reorganisation of the Nature Conservancy Council and the Countryside Commission indicating where reports, or draft reports, are yet available; and if he will place copies in the Library.

§ Mr. Trippier
Three consultancies have been commissioned by the Government in relation to the proposed reorganisation of the Nature Conservancy Council:

(i) a review of the staffing and organisational needs of the scientific and secretarial support unit of the joint Nature Conservation Committee. This review was carried out by the consultancy and inspection services division of HM Treasury, and is now complete;

(ii) a review by PE—International (Inbucon) of the scope for certain non-scientific services to be provided by one of the new agencies on a common basis for two or all of the successor agencies and the JNCC, which is also complete;

(iii) a study by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency of the information systems requirements of the new agencies and the JNCC. This review is still in progress.

Although work by the consultants has finished on the two reviews at (i) and (ii) above, the reports have not yet been fully considered by the Government, existing agencies and the chairmen-designate of the new agencies and the JNCC. Copies of the reports for all three reviews will be placed in the Library of the House when the consultation procedures have been completed.

§ Mr. Morley
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any plans to contract out any of the functions of the Nature Conservancy Council on an agency basis following its proposed reorganisation.

§ Mr. Trippier
Following reorganisation it will be for the three new country councils and the joint nature conservation committee to decide in the first instance how their statutory duties and work programmes can be most efficiently discharged.

§ Mrs. Ann Taylor
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the number of additional staff posts which are likely to be required by the Nature Conservancy Council arising from the Government's reorganisation proposals and the number of additional posts identified by the consultants PE International plc.

§ Mr. Trippier
Detailed work on the staffing, structure and organisation of the three new country councils, including the joint nature conservation committee, is currently being undertaken by the Government and the existing agencies, in consultation with the chairmen-designate of the new councils and the JNCC. Final figures are not yet available for the number of staff likely to be employed after reorganisation. An announcement will be made shortly.
The consultants, PE-International, were employed by NCC to estimate total resource requirements for all the new bodies based on a range of different assumptions. They did not make any recommendations about what staffing levels should be.