§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Prime Minister if hon. Members have been appointed to task forces and other ad hoc advisory bodies created by the Government since 1997. [49729]
§ The Prime MinisterIndividuals are invited to join task forces and reviews solely on the basis of the knowledge, experience and expertise they are able to bring.
Governments have always taken advice from a number of sources——internal and external. There is nothing to prevent hon. Members being appointed to task forces and other ad hoc advisory groups.
Summary date are recorded and published for each task force and ad hoc group in the Cabinet Office's publication "Taskforces, Ad Hoc Advisory Groups and Reviews". This was last published in October 2001 and copies are available in the House Library. The publication sets out the composition, gives numbers of people by category of appointment, and gives the name of the chairperson. A category in this report shows ministerial membership but no specific data on hon. Members' membership of these groups is held.