Dr. Tony WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department(a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings, (b) hold public meetings, (c) have lay or consumer representatives on their boards and (d) operate some form of appeal or complaints procedure; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69979]
(2) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department (a) admit members of the public to all board or committee meetings, (b) hold public meetings and (c) have lay or consumer representatives on their boards; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69959]
(3) which of the advisory non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) the minutes of meetings, (b) the agendas of meetings and documents for those meetings and (c) a register of members' interests; and whether in each case this is under a statutory requirement; [69830]
(4) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department have a statutory base; and which are subject to investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner; [69910]
(5) which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) the minutes of meetings, (b) the agendas of meetings and documents for those meetings and (c) a register of members' interests; and if in each case this is under a statutory requirement. [69944]
§ Mr. TimmsThis Department sponsors two executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs). The information for these bodies is set out in the table.
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DSS executive NDPBs Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority
Pensions Compensation Board (PCB) Voluntary Statutory Requirement Voluntary Statutory Requirement Publish minutes of meetings? No — No — Publish agendas and documents for those meetings? No — No — Publish a register of members' interests? 5Yes — 5Yes — 1 PCB meets when there is a claim for compensation and will potentially be considering commercially confidential information. The board may hold oral hearings to gather information and these could be held publicly if parties agree. 2The OPRA and PCB boards are made up of representatives nominated, according to the requirement of the legislation governing the bodies, from various parts of the pensions industry, and organisations such as the TUC and CBI. However, the board members do not serve in any type of representative capacity, and in discharging their functions each board member is required to set aside any vested interests. 3 OPRA'S three-stage complaints procedure is explained in their leaflet 'putting things right—a guide to how we handle complaints'. Complaints which are not resolved either by a complaints officer (stage 1) or the chairman (stage 2) are referred to an independent complaints adjudicator. 4 PCB'S complaints procedure is explained in 'the pensions compensation board (determinations and review procedures) regulations 1997' 5 Both the OPRA and PCB boards have agreed codes of conduct based on the model code issued by cabinet office. A register of board members' interests is held and updated on a regular basis. Copies of the register are available from the secretary of each board. This Department sponsors five advisor NDPBs. The information for these bodies is in the table.
DSS Advisory NDPBs Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions (CACWP) Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board (DLAAB) Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) Social Security Advisory Committee (SSAC) War Pensions Committees (WPC) Admit members of public to all board or committee meetings? No No No No No Hold Public meetings? No 1No No No No Have lay or consumer representatives on their Boards?2 3Yes 4Yes 5— 6— 3Yes Publish minutes of meetings? 7Yes No 8Yes No 9Yes Publish agendas and documents for those meetings? 7Yes No No No 9Yes Publish a register of members' interests? 10Yes 10Yes 10Yes 10Yes 10Yes 1 DLAAB meets representatives from groups involved in working with and for people with disabilities. Through this contact the Board is able to gain a different perspective of the needs of people affected by various conditions and take into account their concerns. 2 These activities are undertaken by a statutory requirement, all other activities are undertaken on a voluntarily basis. 3 The legislation which governs CACWP and the WPCs requires there to be representatives of ex-service organisations or persons with ex-service experience. 4 The legislation which governs DLAAB requires there to be at least one member with personal experience of caring for disabled person, and six or more who are disabled persons. 5 The legislation that governs IIAC requires that the members other than the chairman shall include an equal number of persons appointed by the Secretary of State, after consultation with such organisations as he thinks fit, to represent employers and employed earners respectively. 6 The legislation that governs SSAC requires that one member must be appointed after consultation with organisations representative of workers, one after consultation with organisations representative of employers, one after consultation with the head of DHSS Northern Ireland, and one member must have experience of work among chronically sick and disabled people and should preferably but not necessarily be a chronically sick or disabled person. However, these members do not act in a representative capacity. 7 Both the minutes and the agenda/associated papers of CACWP meetings are publicly available. They are circulated to a wider audience than just Committee members, i.e.: all War Pensions Committees and certain ex-service organisations not represented on CACWP. Copies are also available to others on request. 8 A summary of meetings will be made available on IIAC's website. 9 Both the minutes and agenda/associated papers of WPC meetings are available on request. 10 Each Board have agreed a code of conduct, and complied a register of Board members' interests that is available for public inspection.