Minutes of Proceedings The Environmental Audit Committee

    

    The Environmental Audit Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to consider the contribution of the policies and programmes of government to environmental protection and sustainable development; to audit performance against targets set by Ministers; and to report thereon. The constitution and powers are set out in full in Standing Order No. 152(A).

     The Committee has up to sixteen members of whom a quorum for any formal proceedings is four. Members are appointed by the House and, unless discharged, remain on the Committee until the next dissolution of Parliament. The present membership of the Committee is:[†]

Sir Richard Body(Conservative, Boston and Skegness)[‡]	Mr Tim Loughton(Conservative, Worthing East & Shoreham)
Mrs Helen Brinton(Labour, Peterborough)	Rt Hon Michael Meacher(Labour, Oldham West & Royton)[‡]
Mr David Chaytor(Labour, Bury North)[‡]	Christine Russell(Labour, City of Chester)[‡]
Mr Neil Gerrard(Labour, Walthamstow)[‡]	Mr Malcolm Savidge(Labour, Aberdeen North)
Mr Dominic Grieve(Conservative, Beaconsfield)	Mr Phil Sawford(Labour, Kettering)[‡]
Mr John Horam(Conservative, Orpington)	Mr Jonathan R Shaw(Labour, Chatham & Aylesford)
Mr Jon Owen Jones (Labour/Co–op, Cardiff Central)[‡]	Mr Simon Thomas(Plaid Cymru, Ceredigion)[‡]
Mr Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat, Hereford)[‡]	Joan Walley(Labour, Stoke-on-Trent North)

     Mr John Horam was elected Chairman by the Committee on 25 November 1997.

     The Committee has power to invite written evidence, require the submission of documents, examine witnesses and publish reports to the House accompanied by the evidence it has gathered.

     The Committee may meet at any time (except when Parliament is prorogued between sessions or dissolved pending a general election) and may do so away from Westminster. It may inform itself by visits abroad and by the use of specialist advisers. The Committee may meet concurrently with the departmentally-related select committees, European Scrutiny Committee and any Lords committee; and may communicate its documents and evidence to any other committee appointed by either House.

     Committee documents are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. Committee publications (as well as press notices and uncorrected transcripts of ministerial oral evidence) are available through the Internet at http://www.parliament.uk/commons/selcom/eahome.htm—the EAC homepage. Minutes of Proceedings relating to substantive Reports are published with each Report and are not reproduced here. Further details of the Committee's activities are given for each parliamentary session in the Sessional Returns series published by The Stationery Office.

     All correspondence should be addressed to: The Clerk, Environmental Audit Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for inquiries is: 020 7 219–5776 (fax:–1224 or 2731); E-mail: [e-mail].

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†  Members were appointed to the Committee on 12 November 1997 unless otherwise indicated.Back
‡  Mr Meacher was added on 19 December 1997 (ex-officio, like the Financial Secretary on the Committee of Public Accounts); Mr Gerrard on 14 January 1999; Mr Jones on 25 November 1999; Christine Russell on 14 December 1999; Sir Richard Body on 18 January 2000; Mr Keetch on 9 February 2000; Mr Simon Thomas on 14 February 2000; Mr Sawford on 3 March 2000; and Mr Chaytor on 30 March 2000.Back

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Prepared: 15 February 2001