§ Mr. LevittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he has reached conclusions on the status of the British Board of Agrement; and if he will make a statement. [64559]
§ Mr. RaynsfordOn 3 February 1998,Official Report, column 637, I announced to the House that a Financial Management and Policy Review of the British Board of Agrement (BBA) would be carried out this year.
The first stage of the Review—the Prior Options Review—was completed by consultants last July. I have since considered the consultants' report very carefully, and having discussed this with the Chairman of the BBA Council, I have reached a number of conclusions:
the BBA provides an essential service to the construction industry, and should be encouraged to continue to provide that service;the BBA no longer needs to be constrained by the Government rules and procedures necessary for Non Departmental Public Bodies and should have the commercial freedoms necessary to allow it to develop its business; andin partnership with Government, the BBA should continue to promote Agrément and European Technical Approvals in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding to be drawn up by my Department and the BBA.To these ends, I propose to invite the Council to amend the Company's Memorandum and Articles of Association so that the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions can relinquish many of the powers he currently has. The BBA will retain its existing status as a Company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act.
In order to emphasise the importance to Government of the BBA, I propose that the Secretary of State should be represented on its ruling Council, and, in order to protect previous investments of public funds, that he retains controls over the disposal of the Company or its assets, through specific clawback provisions. Other commercial and organisational issues should, rightly, be passed to the BBA Council to decide. The Secretary of State will cease to make appointments to the Council, but will be consulted upon them.
As part of the process to promote the BBA, I have asked them to commission a survey of the products market to assist in drawing up a strategy for future development of business opportunities.
Local authority Total cost (£) Title of bid approved Bath and North East Somerset 34,600 Rural Bus Stop Lighting Buckinghamshire 100,500 Community minibus in the Winslow area Cheshire 16,904 Community Transport in Chester district Derbyshire 800,000 Southern Derbyshire rural access initiative Durham 592,000 Public transport access for coalfields communities East Sussex 259,500 Accessible buses for Multi-purpose use Essex 803,100 Flexible bus network for the Dengie peninsular Gloucestershire 25,000 Provision of Rural Transport brokerage facility Greater Manchester 384,500 Provision of taxi/bus interchange facilities at 3 rural railway stations 266,500 Longdendale taxi-sharing scheme Hampshire 8,400 The New Forest minibus brokerage project Hereford 186,490 Enhancement of existing community transport schemes Hertfordshire 176,000 Dial-a-ride evening services 19,000 Improvements to information provision on the internet Kent 40,000 Rural bus stop information strategy 140,000 Upgraded rural routes and real time information Lancashire 203,750 The Clitheroes interchange demonstration project 277,856 The rural quality bus initiative