§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list all the people Lord Walker has met in furtherance of his role as chairman-designate of the Urban Regeneration Agency, the dates of these meetings and the reasons for them.
§ Mr. Robin SquireSince the announcement of the Government's intention that he should be the first chairman of the Urban Regeneration Agency, Lord Walker has met numerous people on a range of matters and has listened to the views that many of them have expressed on the Urban Regeneration Agency.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what consultations he has had and plans to have with local authority associations on the composition of the board of the Urban Regeneration Agency; and when he intends to begin appointing board members;
(2) if he will make a statement on the criteria to be used in selecting people for appointment to the board of the Urban Regeneration Agency.
§ Mr. Robin SquireBoard members will not be appointed until after the Housing and Urban Regeneration Bill has received Royal Assent. In making the appointments, the Secretary of State will take into account views expressed during Parliament's consideration of the Bill and the responses to the consultation exercise on the agency, including those from the local authority associations. His aim in selecting board members will be to make a range of expertise available to the agency, choosing them for the contribution they can make, not because of whom they represent.