Appointments (Hansard, 27 February 2002)

§ Mr. Austin Mitchell
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people have been appointed by her to official bodies and NDPBs coming under the aegis of her Department in the last three years; and who they were. [33348]

§ Mr. Morley
Information about the numbers and remuneration of ministerial appointments to public bodies, including the names of chairpersons, is included in the annual Cabinet Office publication, "Public Bodies". Copies are available in the Libraries of the House and also published on the Cabinet Office's website at www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/quango. The next edition of "Public Bodies", which will include information on appointments as at 31 March 2001, will be published shortly.
The names of all members appointed to public bodies are published annually in the departmental report. Departmental reports for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food are available in the Libraries of the House. The 2001 report is also available on line at www.defra.gov.uk. Publication of the 2002 report for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is expected in late spring 2002.
A number of public bodies, which were the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), transferred to DEFRA in June 2001 as a result of the machinery of Government changes. Names of members appointed to these bodies before the changes were published in the DETR annual departmental reports, available in the Libraries of the House. The DETR reports for 1999, 2000 and April 2001 are also available on line at www.dtlr.gov.uk.

§ Mr. Forth
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the appointments made by her Department since 1 May 19971354W of chairmen of (a) non-departmental public bodies, (b) commissions, (c) inquiries, (d) agencies and (e) task forces; and if she will list their (i) term of office, (ii) salary and (iii) known political affiliation (A) past and (B) present. [33884]

§ Mr. Morley
The information requested on chairmen of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be placed in the Library of the House.
The Commissions to which the Department appoints chairmen are listed among the NDPBs in the table which has been placed in the Library of the House. They are the Meat and Livestock Commission (executive NDPB), the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Sustainable Development Commission (advisory NDPBs). The public body, the Commons Commissioners, is an NDPB tribunal.
The agencies to which the Department appoints chairmen are listed among the NDPBs in the aforementioned table. They are the Countryside Agency and the Environment Agency (executive NDPBs).
The Department appointed the chairmen of the following Public Inquiry:
Name

The BSE Inquiry

Chairman

Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers

Term of office

Inquiry announced on 22 December 1997. Report published on 26 October 2000

Salary

No salary/fee from the inquiry.

Information on the number, remit, and membership of task forces, ad hoc advisory groups and reviews has been published by the Cabinet Office on a regular basis. The first report was published on 11 January 2000 and gives information on the period between 1 May 1997 to 31 October 1999. A second report was published on 27 July 2000 and covered the period 1 November 1999 to 30 April 2000. The most recent report: "Task Forces, Ad Hoc Advisory Groups and Reviews" was issued in October 2001, and covers the period of the financial year 2000–01. Copies of these reports have been placed in the Libraries of the House.