§ Mr. TrotterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action has been taken on outstanding matters following Sir John Garlick's inquiry into the running of Sheffield development corporation.
§ Mr. PortilloAs I told the House on 15 October, the Garlick report contained several criticisms. Action has been taken since then on all these, as follows:
(i) Guidance on Conflicts of Interest
I have today issued guidance to the chairmen and board members of all the urban development corporations on arrangements for dealing with conflicts of interest. Copies have been placed in the Library of the House.(ii) Hallamshire Investments
The chairman of the Sheffielddevelopment corporation, Mr. Sykes, has taken no part in the affairs of Hallamshire since 19 December 1990. His formal resignation, accepted with regret by the board on that day, takes effect on 30 May, and he has leave of absence until then.(iii) Secretarial Support: use of SDC facilities for private business
This problem has been resolved: half a secretarial post is available for Mr. Sykes' SDC business and private business will be conducted elsewhere.(iv) Improvement of systems and procedures
An action plan has been agreed with SDC and is being implemented. This includes a thorough review of systems for handling consultancy appointments.