HC Deb 26 November 2001 vol 375 cc667-9W
Mr. Andrew Turner

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list those public bodies to which his Department appoints members and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000; [17579]

(2) if he will list those public bodies which are the responsibility of his Department and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000. [17580]

Dr. Moonie

Public Bodies 2000 sets out information on Non Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), certain public corporations (including nationalised industries) and NHS bodies. There are four types of NDPB: executive NDPBs; advisory NDPBs; tribunal NDPBs; and boards of visitors to penal establishments. The next edition will be published around the end of the year. Information about taskforces, annual reports and ad hoc advisory groups is set out in an annual report published by the Cabinet Office. Copies of Public Bodies 2000 are in the Library of the House and may be accessed via Cabinet Office's website: http://www.official-documents.co.uk/document/caboff/pb00/pb00.htm. Copies of the annual report on taskforces and similar bodies have also been placed in the Library of the House and the report is being made available on Cabinet Office's website.

The Ministry of Defence currently sponsors 33 Non Departmental Public Bodies (seven executive NDPBs and 26 advisory NDPBs):

  • Executive NDPBs
    • Fleet Air Arm Museum
    • National Army Museum
    • Oil & Pipelines Agency
    • RAF Museum
    • Royal Marines Museum
    • Royal Naval Museum
    • Royal Navy Submarine Museum
  • Advisory NDPBs
    • Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors1
    • Advisory Group on Medical Countermeasures
    • Animal Welfare Advisory Committee
    • Armed Forces Pay Review Body
    • Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions
    • Dartmoor Steering Group (jointly sponsored with DEFRA)
    • Defence Nuclear Safety Committee
    • Defence Scientific Advisory Council
    • Independent Board of Visitors for the Military Corrective Training Centre
    • National Employers Liaison Committee
    • Review Board for Government Contracts
    • Royal Military College of Science Advisory Council
    • Nuclear Research Advisory Committee
    • War Pensions Committees (13 separate committees)
  • 1 Appointments to the ACCO are made by the Lord Chancellor

The MOD currently sponsors the following reviews/task forces:

  • Depleted Uranium Oversight Board
  • Independent Panel on Vaccines Interaction Research
  • Services Families' Task Force.

In addition, the MOD also has a small number of bodies that involve significant membership from outside the civil service, but which are not classified as NDPBs or reviews/taskforces. These are:

  • The Navy Army Air Force Institute (NAAFI)
  • Two "ethnics" committees (to provide oversight of defence research)
  • The Historic Buildings Advisory Group.

NAAFI and the ethnics committees are currently being reviewed to determine whether they should be re-classified as NDPBs.