§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when his Department was informed of the shareholding of Dr. David Slater in DNV Technica; what consideration was given to possible conflict of interest in(a) appointing Dr. Slater as chief inspector of Her Majesty's inspectorate of pollution and (b) awarding a contract to DNV Technica by single tender in August 1991; and if he will make a statement.
849W
§ Mr. HowardDr. Slater has never held shares in DNV Technica. His interests in the predecessor company Technica Ltd., of which he was a full-time director, were fully disclosed to the Department when he applied for the post of chief inspector of HMIP early in 1991. He made clear in the course of the recruitment process that if he was successful he would sever all connection with Technica Ltd. immediately. As soon as he was declared successful he accordingly divested himself of all interests in Technica Ltd. on 27 March 1991, before taking up his appointment as chief inspector on 1 May 1991.
Technica Ltd. was subsequently purchased by DNV and reconstituted as a wholly owned subsidiary, DNV Technica.
The circumstances of the award of a contract by the Department to DNV Technica in August 1991 were described in my answer to the hon. Member on 2 June at column 388. That contract was awarded by a different part of the Department and HMIP was not involved or consulted in any way about it. HMIP has never let any contracts to DNV Technica.