The Earl of Caithnessasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 11 March (WA 53) concerning the British Chamber of Shipping, what are the 'catalyst groups' which 155WA have been established to take forward action points in their shipping policy paper; who serves on them; how they are appointed; what are their terms of reference; when they will report; and what is their cost to the taxpayer. [HL1552]
§ Lord WhittyAs stated inBritish Shipping: Charting a new course the Government proposed to set up catalyst groups to identify for each action point what needs to be done and the most appropriate body or bodies to undertake the work. Three catalyst groups have been established, covering training and skills, employment and environmental benefits. The catalyst groups were appointed by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and include representatives from the Chamber of Shipping, NUMAST, RMT, TGWU and departmental officials.
Each catalyst group is assigned the task of taking forward the relevant action points from the shipping paper. The groups have no terms of reference beyond this task and no further reports have been commissioned. There is no cost to the taxpayer in the establishment and running of the catalyst groups other than the cost of officials as part of their normal duties.