§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the changes which he is proposing to make, in responses to the Phillips report on BSE, into the operation of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment, with special reference to the recommendations that(a) the secretariat is totally independent of his Department and should consist of administrators and not scientists, (b) the committee addresses risk assessment and not risk management, (c) the committee does not give policy advice and (d) the secretariat does not provide draft advice for the Committee. [142571]
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§ Mr. MeacherThe Phillips Inquiry report raises a wide range of issues, of which nearly a quarter concern the management, operation and role of scientific advisory committees, such as the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE).
The Phillips report does not recommend that the secretariats of Advisory Committees should be composed of administrators and not scientists. In fact the report flags the importance of Government Departments retaining 'in house' scientific expertise to enable then to understand and review the advice given by their committees.
The Government are considering the implications of this extensive, and complex report, including issues raised at (b)-(d) and will publish a response in due course. If any changes are proposed in the operation of ACRE, they will be announced subsequently.