§ Mr. LeslieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement about the forthcoming Finance, Management and Policy Review of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards. [29751]
§ Mr. MeacherAs part of the Government's programme of regular, five-yearly finance, management and policy reviews of non-departmental public bodies my Department will conduct a thorough review of the advisory Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards, beginning immediately. The first stage of the review will take a "prior options" study. This will assess the extent to which the Panel's functions are necessary for the achievement of the Government's policies, and whether there is scope for privatising, contracting out or transferring all or part of its functions to another body. This is the first such review of the Panel.
To minimise the uncertainty the prior options study will cause, I expect that study will be completed within three months. Should the Government conclude at the end of the prior options stage that the Panel should continue its work, there will be a further review of its finance,
Belfast City Council Percentage Votes cast for each political party in May1997 elections Council seats won by each political party Council committee chairs and vice-chairs by political party1 Council members in each party nominated to outside bodies1 Council members in each party represented on partnership boards Alliance 9.19 11.76 21.88 16.47 9.09 Democratic Unionist party 12.13 13.73 18.75 17.64 10.91 Independent Unionist 0.38 1.96 3.13 — 0.91 Progressive Unionist party 9.17 5.88 6.25 3.53 10.00 Sinn Fein 27.60 25.49 — 3.53 22.73 Social Democratic and Labour party 15.64 13.73 9.37 8.24 16.36 Ulster Democratic party 2.38 1.96 — — 3.64 Ulster Unionist party 18.86 25.49 40.62 50.59 26.36 Others 4.65 — — — — 1 Information supplied by Belfast City Council.