§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the non-departmental public bodies in existence on 1 May 1997 that(a) have been disbanded, indicating when they were disbanded, (b) will be disbanded 429W in the next 12 months, (c) have had their functions transferred to (i) another non-departmental public body and (ii) a democratically elected body, (d) have been renamed but continue to perform a similar role and (e) have been unchanged; if he will indicate in (c)(ii) the relevant successor body; what new non-departmental public bodies have been established since 1 May 1997; and how many non-departmental public bodies his Department currently is responsible for. [90671]
§ Mr. SpellarIn line with Government policy, the Ministry of Defence is committed to keeping the number of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) to a minimum and to ensuring that those which remain are open, accountable and effective. MOD had 17 NDPBs on 1 May 1997. None has been disbanded, and there are no current plans for any to be disbanded in the next 12 months. The Royal College of Defence Studies Advisory Board was declassified as an NDPB in October 1998, but not disbanded. The Nuclear Weapons Safety Committee and the Nuclear Powered Warship Safety Committee merged to form the Defence Nuclear Safety Committee in November 1998. No other body has had its functions transferred or has been renamed in this period. In August 1998, the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (a body already in existence) was classified as an advisory NDPB. In addition to the above changes, MOD has taken over as lead department for the Armed Forces Pay Review Body which was formerly listed under HM Treasury.
MOD is currently responsible for 17 NDPBs: Fleet Air Arm Museum, Royal Naval Museum, Royal Marines Museum, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, National Army Museum, Royal Air Force Museum, Oil and Pipelines Agency, Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors, Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, Armed Forces Pay Review Body, Dartmoor Steering Group, Defence Nuclear Safety Committee, Defence Scientific Advisory Council, Independent Board of Visitors for the Military Corrective Training Centre, National Employer Liaison Committee, Review Board for Government Contracts, Royal Military College of Science Advisory Council.