Joint Nature Conservation Committee (Hansard, 10 July 1992)

§ Mr. Tyler
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will indicate the current number of staff employed by, or seconded to, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee; and whether any posts have yet to be filled.

§ Mr. Maclean
There are currently 53.5 permanent staff on secondment to the committee from the country councils. A further 1.5 permanent posts are filled by fixed-term appointments and four permanent posts vacant. In addition, there are 37 fixed term appointments to undertake work on projects with a limited timetable. The formal staff complement for the JNCC is currently under review.

§ Mr. Tyler
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what role the Joint Nature Conservation Committee will play in advising the Government on the legislation and procedural changes which will be required in order that the United Kingdom can meet its obligations under the new EC directive on the conservation of wildlife and habitats.

§ Mr. Maclean
The Government are involving the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the country councils closely in the consideration of the measures necessary to implement the habitats directive. The JNCC's particular responsibility will be to ensure that the scientific response to the directive's requirements is consistent across the United Kingdom.

§ Mr. Tyler
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the functions and responsibilities of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

§ Mr. Maclean
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee was established under section 128(4) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to discharge the functions set out in section 133 of the Act. These include the provision of advice on nature conservation for great Britain as a whole or outside Great Britain, the establishment of standards for common monitoring and research and the commissioning of research.