HC Deb 17 December 2001 vol 377 cc151-2W
Mr. Fallon

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the date of establishment was for all(a) taskforces and (b) policy reviews with external members established by his Department since January 2000; which of them have issued their final reports and what the dates of publication were; which of them have been terminated and what the dates of termination were; and for those bodies still in existence, what their expected (i) reporting and (ii) termination dates are; [18157]

(2) what (a) taskforces and (b) policy reviews with external members have been established by his Department since January 2000; and what (i) sub-groups, (ii) working parties and (iii) other subsidiary committees were established by each body. [18158]

Mr. Nicholas Brown

[holding answer 23 November 2001]: Departmental Ministers and officials consider many policy questions and issues on a routine and on-going basis and frequently seek the views of people external to the Department on a more or less informal basis. The following taskforces, ad hoc advisory and policy review groups with external members, have been established since January 2000 with formalised terms of reference:

Older People—Media Images Working Group was established in August 2000 and terminated in March 2001 with no report being published.

Partnership Against Poverty and the Scottish Partnership Against Poverty were established in March 2001 and November 2001 respectively. The groups are on-going with no planned formal reports or end dates. The Partnership Against Poverty group has formed a Black and Ethnic Minority Elder sub-group.

Jobcentre Plus Employers Forum and Jobcentre Plus Stakeholders Forum were both established in May 2001. Both are consultative groups and have been involved in discussions about the development of Jobcentre Plus. The Jobcentre Plus Stakeholders Forum has formed two sub groups, the services sub-group and the training sub-group which are looking at specific issues and will report to the main forum. None of the groups have a time-bound existence, although both the Employer Forum and Stakeholder Forum are under review, and the Stakeholder Forum sub-groups are likely to complete their work by April 2002.

The National Employment Panel was launched in October 2001 as the successor to the New Deal Task Force. The National Employment Panel is an employer-led body which provides independent advice to Ministers on the design, delivery and performance of the UK Government's labour market services. The panel reports on a regular basis to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The panel has established the following sub-groups: the Performance Committee; the Minority Ethnic Advisory Group; the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Board; and a Skills sub-group which will report to the Under-Secretary of State for Adult Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Wentworth (John Healey). The panel does not have a time-bound existence.

The Private Pensions Simplification Review was announced on the 26 September 2001 and is expected to report in July 2002.

The Minimum Funding Requirement Consultation Panel was announced on 18 September 2001. There are currently no plans for the panel to produce a report. It will continue to meet while legislation for the replacement for the MFR is being developed. The termination date for the panel depends on when a Bill is secured and legislation is in place, so it is not possible to give a precise termination date as this is subject to the parliamentary timetable.