Minutes of Proceedings The Environment, Transport & Regional Affairs Committee

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE

WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Tom Brake Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe Mrs Teresa Gorman

Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr John Randall Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Special Report, proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read. the first and second time.

Motion made, and Question put, That the Report be the First Special Report of the Committee to the House.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Special Report to the House.

Ordered, That the Government Response to the Second Report of the Environment Committee, Session 1996-97 [Contaminated Land] be appended to the Report.— (The Chairman.)

Rural White Paper: Professor Stephen Crow, CB, Chairman, Public Examination Panel, Regional Planning Guidance for the South East, was examined;

Mr Tony Burton, Assistant Director (Policy), and Mr Alastair Rutherford, Head of Rural Policy, Council for the Protection of Rural England, were examined;

Councillor Gordon Keymer, Chair, and Councillor Christine Reid, Vice-Chair, Rural Commission, Local Government Association, and Councillor Nick Skellett, Leader, and Mr Richard Shaw, Director for the Environment, Surrey County Council, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 December at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 1 DECEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into the proposed Urban White Paper.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That Mr Andrew F Bennett do take the chair for the inquiry into the proposed Urban White Paper.–(Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody.)

Rural White Paper: Mr Richard Burge, Chief Executive, and Mr John Jackson, Chairman, Countryside Alliance, were examined;

Mr Mark Thomasin-Foster, Chairman, Agriculture and Rural Economy Committee and Mr AD Bailey, Director of Policy, Country Landowners Association, and Mr John Lloyd Jones, Chairman of Parliamentary, Land Use and Environment Committee and Dr Andrew Clark, Countryside and Forestry Policy Adviser, National Farmers' Union, were examined;

Mr Richard Barton, Member of Policy Council, and Mr Tony Fyson, Member of the Policy Council, Town and Country Planning Association, were examined;

Dr Mark Avery, Director of Conservation, and Mr Matt Rayment, Rural Economist, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 14 December at twenty to Ten o'clock

TUESDAY 14 DECEMBER 1999

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F. Bennett Mr Tom Brake Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Louise Ellman Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr Bill O'Brien Mr John Randall

Mr Andrew F. Bennett was called to the Chair.

The Committee deliberated.

Ordered, That Mr Hilary Benn be a Member of the Environment Sub-committee.—(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That Dr Stephen Ladyman be a Member of the Transport Sub-committee.—(The Chairman.)

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [Potential Risk of Fire Spread in Buildings via External Cladding Systems], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the First Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 109 (1999-2000) p.xx).

Ordered, That Ms Mary Bowerman and Mr Tony Redmond be appointed as Specialist Advisers to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into The Audit Commission.–(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till tomorow at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe	Mr James Gray Mrs Teresa Gorman Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Ann McIntosh Mr Bill Olner
Mr John Randall

The Committee deliberated.

Draft report [Environmental Impact of Supermarket Competition], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Second Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Second Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 120 (1999-2000) p.xxii).

Ordered, That be Professor Michael Parkinson and Mr David Lunts be appointed Specialist Advisers to assist the Committee in its inquiry into the Proposed Urban White Paper.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from the Rt Hon Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, and Mr Elliot Morley, a Member of the House, Minister for Fisheries and the Countryside on Wednesday 12 January 2000, and from the Rt Hon Dr Marjorie Mowlam, a Member of the House, Minister for the Cabinet Office, on Thursday 20 January 2000, in connection with the inquiry into the Rural White Paper, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Rural White Paper: Baroness Young, a member of the House of Lords, Chairman, and Mr Derek Langslow, Chief Executive, English Nature, were examined;

Helen Partridge, Director of Policy, and Mr Michael Fulford, President Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management, were examined;

Mr Michael Clayton, Chairman, and Mr Gavin Pritchard Gordon, The Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, and Annie Dodd, The British Horseracing Board British Horse Industry Confederation, were examined;

Kirsty McHugh, Policy Adviser, Mr Mark Sharman, Principal Policy Adviser, and Mr Miles Middleton, Former President, British Chambers of Commerce, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 January 2000 at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr John Randall Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Rural White Paper: Mr Richard Wakeford, Chief-Executive, Mr Ewan Cameron, Chairman, and Ms Pam Warhurst, Deputy Chairman, Countryside Agency, were examined.

The Rt Hon Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and Mr Elliot Morley, a Member of the House, Minister for Fisheries and the Countryside, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, were examined.

[Adjourned till Thursday 20 Januaryy at half past Ten o'clock.

THURSDAY 20 JANUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the memoranda submitted to the Committee for the inquiry into the Proposed Urban White Paper be reported to the House.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary, HM Treasury, in connection with the inquiry into the UK Climate Change Programme, on Thursday 27 January, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Rural White Paper: Mr Greg Wilkinson, Team Leader, 'Rural Economies' Project, Mr Suma Chakrabarti, Director, and Dr Neil Ward, 'Rural Economies' Project Member, Performance and Innovation Unit, were examined;

The Rt Hon Dr Marjorie Mowlam, a Member of the House, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Chairman of the Ministerial Group on Rural Affairs, and Ms Lindsay Bell, Deputy Head of Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 26 January at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe	Mrs Teresa Gorman Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner
Mr George Stevenson

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair

The Committee deliberated

UK Climate Change Programme: Mr Graham Mason, Director of Business Environment Directorate, and Ms Margaret Mogford, Member of the ACBE/CBI Emissions Trading Group, The Confederation of British Industry, were examined;

Mr Richard Grant, Head of Environment, BG plc, and Mr Ken Vowles, Executive Director -UK Power Operations, ScottishPower, and Dr Bill Kyte, Head of Corporate Environment Unit, PowerGen UK, The Electricity Association, were examined;

Dr Elliot Finer, Director General, Mrs Judith Hackitt, Director, Business and the Environment, and Mr Adrian Bromley, Chief Executive Officer, ICI Chemicals and Polymers Ltd, The Chemical Industries Association, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tomorrow at Ten o'clock

THURSDAY 27 JANUARY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody	Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien
Mr Bill Olner

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair

The Committee deliberated

UK Climate Change Programme: Mr Mike Walker, Policy Development Adviser, and Mr Keith Sexton, Health, Safety and Environment Manager, United Utilities, Water UK, and Mr Ben Gill, President, and Mr Jacob Tompkins, Environment Policy Adviser, National Farmers Union, were examined;

Dr Tim Jenkins, Senior Research Officer, and Dr Ute Collier, WWF, Friends of the Earth, were examined;

Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary, and Mr Simon Virley, Head of Environmental Tax Team, HM Treasury, and Ms Heather Massey, Head of Excise Policy Group, HM Customs and Excise, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 1 February at a quarter to Ten o'clock

TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair.

The Committee deliberated.
Ordered, That Dr Vanessa Toulmin be appointed a Specialist Adviser to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into Travelling Fairs.–(Mr Andrew F Bennett.)

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [The Proposed Public-Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Third Report of the Committee to the House.–(The Chairman.)

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Third Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 35 (1999-2000) p.xxxi).

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [The Work of the Health and Safety Executive], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Fourth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fourth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 31-I (1999-2000) p.xxxiii).

[Adjourned till Wednesday 16 February at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated

Ordered, That Mr John Popham be appointed a Specialist Adviser to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into The Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries.–(Mr Andrew F Bennett.)

Notice having been taken of the decision by the Environment Sub-committee to travel to the Netherlands and Spain in June;

Ordered, That the Chairman do seek the approval of the Liaison Committee for expenditure in connection with the said visit.

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into the Departmental Annual Report 2000 and Expenditure Plans 2000-01 to 2001-02 and to report to the House before the summer recess;

Resolved, That, the Committee do take evidence from the Permanent Secretary on general matters relating to the Department, the Environment Sub-committee do take evidence from senior officials on environment matters, and the Transport Sub-committee do take evidence from the Minister for Transport on transport matters.–(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

Proposed Urban White Paper: Lord Rogers of Riverside, a Member of the House of Lords, Chairman, Mr Jon Rouse, Secretary, and Ms Wendy Thomson, Member, Urban Task Force, were examined;
Professor Brian Robson, School of Geography, Manchester University, was examined;

Mrs Mavis McDonald CB, Director General, Housing, Construction, Regeneration and Countryside, and Mr Jeff Jacob, Director, Town and Country Planning, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined

[Adjourned till Monday 28 February at Six o'clock

MONDAY 28 FEBRUARY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman	Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner
Mr George Stevenson

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair

The Committee deliberated

Ordered, That Mr Crispin Blunt be a Member of the Environment Sub-committee.—(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 8 March at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

The Committee deliberated.

Proposed Urban White Paper: Mr Tony Pidgeley, Managing Director, The Berkeley Group, was examined;

Mr Mike Shields, Chief Executive, North West Development Agency, Mr Anthony Dunnett, Chief Executive, South East Regional Development Agency, Mrs Helen Farrar, Development Manager, Yorkshire Forward, and Mr Colin Molton, Director of Development, Southwest Regional Development Agency, Regional Development Agencies, were examined;

Mr Bob Dobbie, Regional Director for the North East, Government Office for the North East, was examined

Mr Tom Bloxham, Director, Urban Splash, was examined.

[Adjourned till Monday 13 March at a quarter to Six o'clock

MONDAY 13 MARCH 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody	Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Mr Bill Olner
Mr George Stevenson

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair,

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report [UK Climate Change Programme], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fifth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fifth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 194-I (1999-2000) p.xlix).

[Adjourned till Wednesday at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 15 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

The Committee deliberated

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from The Rt Hon Richard Caborn, a Member of the House, Minister for Trade, The Lord Sainsbury of Turville, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Science, in connection with the inquiry into the proposed Urban White Paper, on Wednesday 22 March, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Proposed Urban White Paper: Mr Chris Brown, Director, Urban Regeneration Department, AMEC Developments, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and Mr Kevin Murray, President, Royal Town Planning Institute, were examined;

Mr Stuart Beevor, Managing Director, Property, Legal & General, was examined;

Mr Trevor Beattie, Corporate Strategy & Communications Director, and Mr David Shelton, Development Director, English Partnerships, were examined;

Miss Grisel Tarifa, LRN Co-ordinator, and Ms Lorraine Roberts, LRN Co-ordinator Group Member, London Regeneration Network, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 22 March at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

The Committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Estelle Morris, a Member of the House, Minister for School Standards, and Baroness Blackstone, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Education and Employment, in connection with the inquiry into the proposed Urban White Paper, on Wednesday 29 March, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Proposed Urban White Paper: The Rt Hon Richard Caborn, a Member of the House, Minister for Trade, The Lord Sainsbury of Turville, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Science, Mr David Evans, Head of Central Directorate, and Mr Paul McIntyre, Head of Regional Policy, Department of Trade and Industry, were examined;

Sir Jocelyn Stevens, Chairman, and Ms Pam Alexander, Chief Executive, English Heritage, and Dr Eric Anderson, Chairman, and Mrs Anthea Case, Director, Heritage Lottery Fund, were examined;

Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, a Member of the House of Lords, Chairman, and Mr Simon Dow, Acting Chief Executive, Housing Corporation, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 29 March at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Committee do apply for a debate on the report on the Work of the Health and Safety Executive in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 17 May.—(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do take evidence from Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary, HM Treasury, and the Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister of State, Cabinet Office, Head of the Regional Co-ordination Unit, on the Proposed Urban White Paper on Wednesday 12 April.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from, Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary, HM Treasury, and the Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister of State, Cabinet Office, in connection with the inquiry into the Proposed Urban White Paper, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Draft Special Report, proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read the first and second time.

Resolved, That the Report be the Second Special Report of the Committee to the House.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Special Report to the House.

Ordered, That the Government response to the First Report from the Committee [The Potential Risk of Fire Spread in Buildings via External Cladding Systems] be appended to the Report.— (The Chairman.)

Resolved, That having recommended in its report on the Departmental Annual Report and Estimates last year that the proposal by the Department to move to two Requests for Resources (formerly called Votes), with only one for all the Department's main programmes and activities would be unacceptable; and having been asked by the Department to reconsider its decision, the Committee stick to its recommendation.

Ordered, That Miss Anne McIntosh and Mr Bill O'Brien be Members of the Environment Sub-committee for the visit to Brussels.—(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

Proposed Urban White Paper: Councillor Jim Mallory and Ms Joyce Markham, Local Government Association, and Sir Michael Lyons, Chief Executive and Mr Ed Whitton, Secretary of the Urban Policy Panel, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, were examined;

Estelle Morris, a Member of the House, Minister for School Standards, and Baroness Blackstone, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Education and Employment, Department for Education and Employment, were examined:

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 April at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Clifford Forsythe	Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien
Mr Bill Olner

The Committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from the Rt Hon John Prescott, a Member of the House, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, in connection with the inquiry into the Proposed Urban White Paper, on Wednesday 19 April, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

Proposed Urban White paper: Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary, HM Treasury, was examined;

The Lord Falconer of Thoroton, QC, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister of State, Cabinet Office, Head of the Regional Co-ordination Unit, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 19 April at half past Nine o'clock

WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman	Mr Clifford Forsythe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien
Mr Bill Olner

The Committee deliberated

Ordered, That Professor David MacDonald and Dr Janet Dwyer be appointed as Specialist Advisers to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into UK Biodiversity.–(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

Proposed Urban White paper: The Rt Hon John Prescott, a member of the House, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong, a Member of the House, Minister for Local Government and Regions, and Mrs Mavis McDonald CB, Director General, Housing, Construction, Regeneration and Countryside, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined;

Ms Moira Wallace, Head, and Mr Andrew Crook, Member, Social Exclusion Unit, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 3 May at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 3 MAY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn
Mr Andrew F Bennett
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Crispin Blunt
Christine Butler
Mr John Cummings
Mr Brian H Donohoe
Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody
Mrs Louise Ellman
Mr James Gray
Dr Stephen Ladyman
Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien
Mr Bill Olner

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair,

The Committee observed a minutes silence in memory of Mr Clifford Forsythe MP.

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Committee do take evidence from The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution on the Twenty-Second Report of The Commission: Energy - The Changing Climate on Wednesday 5 July.–(The Chairman.)
Report from the Environment Sub-committee [The Environment Agency], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Sixth of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Sixth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 34-I (1999-2000) p.lxxiii).

Draft Report [Rural White Paper], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Seventh Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Seventh Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 32-I (1999-2000) p.xl).

[Adjourned till Wednesday 24 May at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody was called to the chair.

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Committee do apply for a debate on the report on the Environmental impact of supermarket competition in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 21 June.—(The Chairman.)

Notice having been taken of the recommendation by the Transport Sub-committee that the Committee hold an inquiry into pedestrianisation;

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into Walking in Towns and Cities.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That Mr Chris Bolt be appointed a Specialist Adviser to assist the Transport Sub-committee on rail matters.–(The Chairman.)

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [Light Rapid Transit Systems], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Eighth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Eighth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 153 (1999-2000) p.xli).

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [Travelling Fairs], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Ninth Report of the Committee to the House.
(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Ninth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 284-I (1999-2000) p.xxviii).

Ordered, That the supplementary memorandum submitted to the Committee on the Synchratron be placed in the Library of the House and the Public Record Office, House of Lords.–(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till Wednesday 14 June at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair.

Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson declared an interest as a partner in a financial services and estate agency business.

The Committee deliberated.

Ordered, That Mr Donaldson be a Member of the Transport Sub-committee.—(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That Mr Andrew F Bennett do take the Chair for the inquiry into The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England.–(Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody.)

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [Audit Commission], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Tenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Tenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 174-I (1999-2000) p.xxxii).

Departmental Annual Report 2000 and Expenditure Plans 2000-01 to 2001-02: Sir Richard Mottram, Permanent Secretary, Mr John Ballard, Principal Finance Officer, Mr Tom Adams, Head of Electronic Publishing Unit, and Mr Alan Evans, Director of Communications, Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 21 June at half past 11 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 21 JUNE 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn
Mr Andrew F Bennett
Christine Butler
Mr John Cummings
Mrs Louise Ellman
Mrs Teresa Gorman
Mr James Gray
Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair.

The Committee deliberated.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 28 June at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

Mr Andrew F Bennett was called to the chair,

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report [Proposed Urban White Paper], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Eleventh Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Eleventh Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 185-I (1999-2000) p.lxvi).

[Adjourned till Wednesday 5 July at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman	Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner
Mr George Stevenson

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody was called to the chair

The Committee deliberated

Twenty-Second Report of The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution: Energy - The Changing Climate: Professor Sir Tom Blundell, Chairman, Dr Susan Owens, Member, and Professor Brian Hoskins, Member, The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, were examined.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at a quarter past Ten o'clock

THURSDAY 6 JULY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F. Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Mr Brian H. Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr James Gray Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

Mr Andrew F. Bennett was called to the Chair.

The Committee deliberated.

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [UK Biodiversity: Interim Report], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Twelfth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Twelfth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 441-I (1999-2000) p.x).

Another Report from the Environment Sub-committee [The Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Thirteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Thirteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 364-I (1999-2000) p.xl).

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the House.

The Committee further deliberated.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 July at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Committee do apply for an Estimates Day Debate on the Rural White Paper report and the Urban White Paper report.—(The Chairman.)

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [Funding of London Underground] proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Fourteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fourteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 411 (1999-2000) p.xxi).

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into Inland Waterways.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody do take the Chair for the inquiry into Inland Waterways.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the memoranda submitted to the Committee on The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England be placed in the Library of the House.–(The Chairman.)

The Committee further deliberated.

The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England: Mr Jim Gill, Commercial Director, and Mr Richard Beattie, Director of Projects, English Partnerships, were examined;

Mr Jonathon Blackie, Director of Regeneration–One North East, Regional Development Agencies, was examined;

Professor Stephen Fothergill, Coordinator, and Mr John Woodside, Head of Special Programmes–Barnsley MBC, Alliance for Regional Aid, and Ms Jean Dent, Senior Assistant Director, Leeds Development Agency, Leeds City Council, were examined;

Mr Chris Brown, Director, AMEC Developments, Chair of RICS Regeneration Panel, and Mr Bill Stevenson, Deputy Chair, Bellway Urban Renewal, and Mr John Deeley, Chairman, and Mr John Holmes, Development Consultant, Deeley Properties Ltd, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 19 July at a quarter to 12 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 19 JULY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody was called to the chair.

The Committee deliberated.

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [The Road Haulage Industry] proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Fifteenth Report of the Committee to the House.–(The Chairman.)

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fifteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 296 (1999-2000) p.xlviii).

[Adjourned till Tuesday 25 July at a quarter to ten o'clock

TUESDAY 25 JULY 2000

Mr Andrew F Bennett in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill Olner Mr Bill O'Brien

The Committee deliberated.

The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England: The Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong, a Member of the House, Minister for Local Government and Regions, Mr Paul Houston, Divisional Manager, and Mr Dermot Paddon, Head of Branch, Regeneration Division 3, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at half past Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 2000

Members present:

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe	Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh
Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody was called to the chair.

The Committee deliberated.

Draft Report [The Implications of the European Commission Ruling on Gap Funding Schemes for Urban Regeneration in England], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Sixteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Sixteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 714-I (1999-2000) p.xxiv).

Another draft Report [Departmental Annual Report 2000 and Expenditure Plans 2000-01 to 2001-02], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Seventeenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Seventeenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 471 (1999-2000) p.xii).

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Eighteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Eighteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 532 (1999-2000) p.xl).

Draft Special Report, proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read the first and second time.

Resolved, That the Report be the Third Special Report of the Committee to the House.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Special Report to the House.

Ordered, That the Environment Agency response to the Sixth Report from the Committee [The Environment Agency] be appended to the Report.— (The Chairman.)

Another draft Special Report, proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read the first and second time.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fourth Special Report of the Committee to the House.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Special Report to the House.

Ordered, That the Government response to the Ninth Report from the Committee [Travelling Fairs] be appended to the Report.— (The Chairman.)

Another draft Special Report, proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read the first and second time.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fifth Special Report of the Committee to the House.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Special Report to the House.

Ordered, That the Government response to the Eighth Report from the Committee [Light Rapid Transit Systems] be appended to the Report.— (The Chairman.)

Ordered, That Professor James McConville and Mr John Hume be appointed as Specialist Advisers to assist the Committee in its inquiry into Inland Waterways.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That Mr Dominic Hogg and Mr David Mansell be appointed as Specialist Advisers to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into Delivering Sustainable Waste Management.–(Mr Andrew F Bennett.)

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 November at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Louise Ellman Mrs Teresa Gorman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated

Report from the Transport Sub-committee [The Work of the Commission for Integrated Transport], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read

Resolved, That the Report be the Nineteenth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Nineteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 725 (1999-2000) p.viii).

Resolved, That the Committee do take evidence from the Minister for the Environment on the Rural White Paper.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do take evidence from the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State on the Urban White Paper.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do take evidence from the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on the Rural White Paper.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into Walking in Towns and Cities.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That Mr Andrew F Bennett do take the Chair for the inquiry into Walking in Towns and Cities.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That be Mr Rod Tolley be appointed a Specialist Adviser to assist the Committee in its inquiry into Walking in Towns and Cities.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Committee do visit Barcelona, Milan, Ferrara and Munich in connection with its inquiry into Walking in Towns and Cities.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Chairman do seek the approval of the Liaison Committee for expenditure in connection with the said visit.

The Committee further deliberated

Inland Waterways: Mr David Hilling, UK Vice President, European River Sea Transport Union, Mr David Lowe, Managing Director, Humber Barges, and Mr Peter Johnson, Director, Corporate Development, Cory Environmental, were examined;

Mr David Pearce, National Vice Chairman, and Dr Roger Squires, Member, Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs, and Mr Neil Edwards, Executive Director, Inland Waterways Association, were examined;

Mr David Withrington, Senior Freshwater Officer, English Nature and Dr Louise Bardsley, Freshwater Officer, and Mr Robert Cunningham, Water Officer, UK Water Policy Team, The Wildlife Trusts, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 15 November at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Tom Brake Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mrs Teresa Gorman

Miss Anne McIntosh Dr Stephen Ladyman Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated

Resolved, That the Committee do apply for a debate in Westminster Hall on the Report on the Environment Agency.—(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That Mr David Lambert and Dr Julie Rugg be appointed as Specialist Advisers to assist the Environment Sub-committee in its inquiry into Cemeteries.–(Mr Andrew F Bennett.)

Resolved, That the Committee do inquire into Development on, or affecting, the Flood Plain.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody do take the Chair for the inquiry into Development on, or affecting, the Flood Plain.–(Mr Andrew F Bennett.)

Inland Waterways: Councillor Stewart Stacey, Chair of West Midlands Planning and Transportation Sub-Committee, Birmingham City Council, and Councillor Stan Crawford, Leader, and Mr Richard Dix, Chief Executive Officer, Newark & Sherwood District Council, were examined;

Dr David Fletcher, Chairman, Mr Philip Burgess, Research & Administration Manager, and Mr Geoffrey Holroyde, Upper Avon Navigation Trust, Association of Inland Navigation Authorities, were examined;

Viscountess Knollys, Chairman, Professor Ian Mercer, Member and Secretary General of Association of National Parks, Mr Derek Gowling, Member, and Dr John Eaton, Member and Senior Lecturer in Biological Science, University of Liverpool, Inland Waterways Amenity Advisory Council, were examined;

Mr Barry Milson, Vicechair Docks and Waterways Committee, and Mr Roger Sealey, Researcher, Transport and General Workers Union, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 22 November at Ten o'clock

WEDNESDAY 22 November 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe

Dr Stephen Ladyman Mrs Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated.

Report from the Environment Sub-committee [Biodiversity], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read
Resolved, That the Report be the Twentieth Report of the Committee to the House.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Twentieth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 441 (1999-2000) p.lxv).

The Committee further deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from the Environment Agency on this day be placed in the Library of the House, and that the transcript of evidence taken from Mr Nick Raynsford, a Member of the House, Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction, taken on this day be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Development on, or affecting, the Flood Plain: Dr Geoff Mance, Director of Water Management, Mr Jonathan Chapman, Flood Defence Policy Adviser, and Mr Patrick Steward, Regional Development Planner–South West Region, Environment Agency, were examined;

Mr Nick Raynsford MP, a Member of the House, Minister for Housing, Planning and Construction, Mr Jeff Jacobs, Director, Planning Directorate, and Mr Lester Hicks, Divisional Manager, Minerals and Waste Planning Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 29 November at 10 o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the chair,

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Committee deliberated

Inland Waterways: Mr Fred Taggart, Director, Regeneration through Heritage, was examined;

Dr George Greener, Chairman, Dr David Fletcher, Chief Executive, and Mr Stewart Sim, Operations Director, British Waterways, were examined;

In the absence of the Chairman, Mr Bennett was called to the Chair

Dr Geoff Mance, Director of Water Management, Miss Eileen Mckeever, Head of Recreation and Navigation, and Mr Robert Runcie, Anglian Regional Director, Environment Agency, were examined;

The Chairman resumed the Chair

Lord Whitty, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Mr James Bradley, Divisional Manager, Environment Agency Sponsorship and Navigation Division, and Mr Colin Jones, Head of Inland Waterways, Environment Agency Sponsorship and Navigation Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned until Wednesday 6 November at twenty to Four o'clock

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENVIRONMENT SUB-COMMITTEE

TUESDAY 23 NOVEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H. Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner Mr John Randall

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken this day from Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

The Work of the Health and Safety Executive: Mr Bill Callaghan, Chair of the Health and Safety Commission, Ms Jenny Bacon, Director General, Health and Safety Executive and Mr David Eves, Deputy Director General, Health and Safety Executive, Health and Safety Commission and Executive, were examined;

Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, Dr David Fisk, Director, Central Strategy and Mr Murray Devine, Head of Health and Safety Sponsorship Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 30 November 1999 at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Environment Agency: Dr Marion Carter, Managing Director, M J Carter Associates, Mr Dirk Hazell, Chief Executive and Mr Graham Watson, Environment Director, Hanson Waste Management, Environmental Services Association, were examined;

Ms Pamela Taylor, Chief Executive, Mr Brian Duckworth, Chairman, Water UK, Managing Director, Severn Trent Water UK Ltd and Mr Paul Woodcock, Member, Water UK Waste Water Group, Director of Water Quality, Anglian Water Services, Water UK, were examined;

Mr David Coulston, Director, Environment, Health and Safety and Dr Roger Coates, Head of Environment, Health and Safety for the UK, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd, were examined;

Professor Charles Curtis, (Chairman), Research Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Mrs Cathy Griffiths, Head of Radiation Protection and Quality Assurance, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield and Dr Wynne Davies, Director, Group Health Safety and Environment, Nycomed Amersham plc, Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 7 December 1999 at a quarter to Ten o'clock.

TUESDAY 7 DECEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner Mr John Randall

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Report (Potential Risk of Fire Spread in Buildings via External Cladding Systems) be the First Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the First Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 109 (1999-2000) p.xix).

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Travelling Fairs; and the Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries.–(The Chairman.)

Environment Agency: Mr Edward Hyams, President, TXU Europe Power and Mr Nigel Burdett, Environmental Adviser, Eastern Generation; Mr Brian Count, Manager Director UK Business Division and Mr John McElroy, Environmental Adviser, National Power, were examined;

Mr Janet Asherson, Head of Environmental Affairs, CBI, Mr Doug Rodger, Executive Director, Safety, Health & Environmental Policy, CIA, Mr Dai Hayward, Director and General Manager, Thomas Swan & Co Ltd and Professor Phil Roberts, Safety, Health, Environmental and Operations Manager, ICI Chemicals & Polymers Ltd, Confederation of British Industry/Chemical Industries Association, were examined;

Lord Moran, Chairman, Moran Committee, Mr Mark Hatcher, Secretary, Moran Committee and Mr Chris Poupard, Director, Salmon & Trout Association, Joint Fisheries Policy & Legislation Working Group (Moran Committee), were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 14 December at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 14 DECEMBER 1999

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner Mr John Randall

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, in connection with the inquiry into the Environment Agency, on Tuesday 18 January 2000, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Environment Agency: Baroness Young, Chairman and Dr Derek Langslow, Chief Executive, English Nature, were examined;
Councillor Kay Twitchen, Chair, Waste Management Executive, Mr David Coleman, Chief Works and Contract Officer, London Borough of Bexley and Mr Lewes Herbert, Team Leader, Waste Management, Cambridgeshire County Council, Local Government Association, were examined;

Mr Ian Bonas, Chair, North East Regional Environmental Protection Advisory Committee and Ms Pamela Castle, Chair, Thames Regional Environmental Protection Advisory Committee, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 18 January at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 18 JANUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the Memoranda received by the Environment Sub-committee for the inquiry into the Audit Commission be reported to the House and printed.–(The Chairman).

Environment Agency: Sir John Harman, Chairman, Mr Ed Gallagher, Chief Executive, and Mr Archie Robertson, Director of Operations, Environment Agency, were examined;

Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, and Mr Brian Glicksman, Head of Environment Agency Sponsorship & Navigation Division at the DETR, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 25 January at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 25 JANUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Mrs Louise Ellman

Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Audit Commission: Rt. Hon. David Davis, a Member of the House, Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts, was examined;

Ms Ines Newman, Head of Policy, and Mr David Spencer, Policy Officer, Local Government Information Unit, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 1 February at twenty minutes to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2000

[FIRST MEETING]

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do visit Bromsgrove and Lichfield on 6-7 March 2000 in connection with its inquiry into Travelling Fairs.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Report (The Work of the Health and Safety Executive), be the Second Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fourth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 31-I (1999-2000) p.xxxii).

[Adjourned till this day at ten minutes to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2000

[SECOND MEETING]

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Mrs Louise Ellman declared a non-pecuniary interest in connection with the inquiry into the Audit Commission as a Vice-Chairman of the Local Government Association.

Audit Commission: Councillor Gordon Keymer, LGA Executive, and Mr Matthew Warburton, Head of Strategy, Local Government Association; and Mr Mel Usher, Executive Director, Improvement and Development Agency, were examined.

Mr Stephen Freer, Chief Executive Designate, and Mr Vernon Sore, Policy & Technical Director, Cipfa, were examined.

Mr Richard Harbord, Managing Director, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham; Mr Bill Roots, Chief Executive, City of Westminster; and Ms Lesley Halton, Borough Treasurer, West Devon Borough Council, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 15 February at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 15 FEBRUARY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into UK Biodiversity.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Rt Hon. Hilary Armstrong, a Member of the House, Minister for Local government and the Regions, in connection with the inquiry into the Audit Commission, on Wednesday 1 March 2000, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Audit Commission: Mr Steve Bundred, Chief Executive, London Borough of Camden, was examined;

Ms Adrienne Fresko, Audit Commissioner & Chair of the District Audit Panel and Mr David Prince, Chief Executive, District Audit; Ms Mollie Bickerstaff, Partner, KPMG; and Mr Eugene Sullivan, Head of Public Sector Services, RSM Robson Rhodes, were examined;

Mr Peter Cordle, Strategic Director (Resources), Coventry City Council & President of SMT and Mr Alan Steel, Borough Treasurer, Hounslow London Borough Council and President Elect of SMT, Society Municipal Treasurers; and Mr George Krawiec, Chief Executive and Town Clerk, Southend on Sea Borough Council and Mr John Shaddock, Head of Strategic Management, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, SOLACE, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 March at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

WEDNESDAY 1 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have leave to publish the Memorandum submitted by them in accordance with the provisions of S. O. No.135(1).–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the Memoranda received by the Environment Sub-committee for the inquiry into Travelling Fairs be reported to the House and printed.–(The Chairman.)

Audit Commission: Dame Helena Shovelton, Chair, Mr Andrew Foster, Controller, and Ms Wendy Thomson, Director of Inspection, Audit Commission, were examined;

Rt Hon. Hilary Armstrong, a Member of the House, Minister for Local Government and the Regions, Mr Andrew Whetnall, Director, Local Government Directorate and Mr Paul Rowsell, Divisional Manager, Local Government Sponsorship Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 7 March at Nine o'clock at Lichfield District Council Chambers.
   

TUESDAY 7 MARCH 2000

The Sub-committee met at Lichfield District Council Chambers

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H. Donohoe

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Travelling Fairs: Mr Keith Miller, General Secretary, Mr Albert Ayers, President and Mr Graham Downie, Secretary, Midland Section and Chairman, Fairground Association of Great Britain, The Showman's Guild of Great Britain, were examined;

Councillor Stewart Stacey, Member, LGA Planning Executive, Mr James Russell, Assistant Director, Strategy and Planning Division, Coventry City Council, Ms Jeannette Williams, Head of Facilities, Norwich City Council, and Ms Delis Aston, Policy Officer, Planning, Local Government Association, were examined;

Mr David Lewis, Area Planning Officer, Thurrock District Council; Mr Richard Noble, Markets and Fairs Officer, Nottingham City Council; and Mr Barrie Tinker, Senior Outdoor Recreation Manager, Bradford Metropolitan District Council, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 14 March at a quarter to Ten o'clock.
   

TUESDAY 14 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Town and Country Parks: Councillor Susie Kemp, Vice Chair, LGA Cultural Services Executive, Mr Mike Rowan, Principle Parks Officer, Hounslow Community Initiative Partnerships and Ms Jane Glaister, Head of Culture Countryside & Amenities, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Local Government Association, were examined;

Mr Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive and Mr Richard Hill, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, New Opportunities Fund, were examined;

Sir Jocelyn Stevens, Chairman, Ms Pam Alexander, Chief Executive, and Mr Jeffrey West, Director, Conservation Management, English Heritage, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 21 March at a quarter to Ten o'clock.

   

TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the Memoranda received by the Environment Sub-committee for the inquiry into The Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries be reported to the House and printed.–(The Chairman).

Mr Brian H. Donohoe declared a non-pecuniary interest in respect of the inquiry into Travelling Fairs as an honorary member of the Showmen's Guild.

Travelling Fairs: Mr Ray Smith; Mr George Irvin Snr; Ms Susan Peak; and Mr George Scarrott, were examined;

Mr Ian Baseley, Ian Baseley Associates, Chartered Town Planners; Ms Janet Montgomery, Brimble Lea & Partners, Chartered Architects, Planning Consultants & Surveyors; and Mr David Loveday, Chartered Planner and Development Consultant, were examined;

Mr Chris Shepley, Chief Planning Inspector/Chief Executive, Planning Inspectorate, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 28 March at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 28 MARCH 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries: Professor Malcolm Grant, University of Cambridge, was examined;

Councillor Nigel Rose, Deputy Chair of the LGA Planning Executive, Wokingham District Council, Mr Bob Bennett, Director of Planning and Economic Development, London Borough of Waltham Forest and Mr Sam Richards, Planning Policy Office, Local Government Association; and Mr Phil Joyce, Acting Assistant Director, Department of Planning and Environment, Leeds City Council, were examined;

Mr David Cox, Senior Solicitor, Denton Wilde Sapte, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 5 April at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

WEDNESDAY 5 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Mr Nick Raynsford, a Member of the House, Minister for Planning, on the Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries, on Tuesday 18 April 2000, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries: Ms Jenny Thurston, Deputy General Secretary, Ms Wendy Burden, Secretary, IPMS (PINS Section), Mr Geoff Salter, Prisident, IPMS (PINS Section) and Mr Chris Jarvis, Vice-President, IPMS (PINS Section), Institution of Professionals, Managers, and Specialists, were examined.

Mr Mike Haslam, Junior Vice-Presient (Chief Planning Officer, South Norfolk Council), Mr Simon Birch, Convenor of the Development Control Panel (Director of Environmental & Planning Services, Guildford Borough Council), Mr Peter Wilbraham, Honorary Secretary and Solicitor (Wilbraham & Co. Solicitors), Mr David Rose, Director, Public Affairs, Royal Town Planning Institute, were examined.

Mr Peter Pike, a Member of the House, Chairman, and Ms Sue Toland, Secretary, Rights of Way Review Committee, were examined.

Mr Tony Burton, Assistant Director (Policy) and Mr Neil Sinden, Head of Planning and Local Government, Council for the Protection of Rural England, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 11 April at a quarter past Two o'clock
   

TUESDAY 11 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries: Mr Michael FitzGerald, QC, Chairman, Advisory Panel on Standards for the Planning Inspectorate, was examined;

Mr Chris Shepley, Chief Planning Inspector and Chief Executive and Mr Brian Dodd, Director, Planning Inspectorate, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 18 April at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 18 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Tom Brake Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody

Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the Memoranda received by the Environment Sub-committee for the inquiry into UK Biodiversity be reported to the House and printed.–(The Chairman).

Travelling Fairs; and the Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries: Mr Nick Raynsford, a Member of the House, Minister for Planning, Mr Jeff Jacobs, Director, Town & Country Planning Directorate, and Mr Chris Shepley, Chief Planning Inspector & Chief Executive, Planning Inspectorate, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at Twenty-five minutes past Nine o'clock
   

WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Report (The Environment Agency) be the Third Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Sixth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 34-I (1999-2000) p.lxx).

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do visit Spain from 16 to 21 July 2000 in connection with its inquiry into UK Biodiversity.–(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till Tuesday 9 May at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 9 MAY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

The Departmental Annual Report 2000 and Expenditure Plans 2000-01 to 2001-02: Mr John Ballard, Principal Finance Officer, Mr Henry Derwent, Director, Environment (Risks and Atmosphere), Mr Michael Gahagan, Director, Housing Directorate and Mr Mark Lambirth, Director, Local Government Finance, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 16 May at a quarter to Ten o'clock

   

TUESDAY 16 MAY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

UK Biodiversity: Dr Jeremy Greenwood, Director and Dr Juliet Vickery, Head, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, The British Trust for Ornithology, were examined;

Professor Colin Reid, University of Dundee; and Professor William Sutherland, Univerisity of East Anglia, were examined;

Mr Roger Pritchard, Head, European Wildlife Division and Mr Hilary Neal, Head, Biodiversity Policy Unit, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; and Mr John Osmond, Head, Conservation Management Division, The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 23 May at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 23 MAY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do take evidence from the Countryside Agency on 4 July.– (The Chairman.)

UK Biodiversity: Dr Mark Avery, Director of Conservation, Mr Gwyn Williams, Head of Sites and Species Conservation and Mr Robin Wynde, Biodiversity Policy Officer, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, were examined.

Ms Carol Hatton, Policy Officer, and Mr Chris How, Head of Future Landscapes, World Wide Fund for Nature, were examined.

Ms Hilary Allison, Policy Director and Mr Richard Smithers, UK Conservation Adviser, The Woodland Trust, were examined.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at ten minutes to Ten o'clock
   

WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.
Resolved, That the Report (Travelling Fairs) be the Fourth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Ninth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 284-I (1999-2000) p.xxvii).

[Adjourned till Tuesday 6 June at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 6 JUNE 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

UK Biodiversity: Sir Edward Greenwell, Vice President and Dr Alan Woods, Deputy Director of Policy, Country Landowners Association; Mr Andrew Clark, Countryside & Forestry Policy Adviser and Mr Richard Watson-Jones, Vice President, National Farmers Union, were examined.

Mr Mike Walker, Policy Development Adviser and Dr Chris Spray, Director of Environment, Northumbrian Water Ltd; Mr Paul Woodcock, Head of Water Quality and Environmental Regulation, Anglian Water Services, were examined.

Mr John Mortimer, Chairman, CBI Minerals Committee, and Ms Jane Topliss, Policy Adviser, Confederation of British Industry, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 13 June at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 13 JUNE 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Report (Audit Commission), be the Fifth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Tenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 174-I (1999-2000) p.xxxi).

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment and Elliot Morley Esq, MP, Minister for Fisheries and the Countryside, in connection with the inquiry into UK Biodiversity, on Tuesday 27 June 2000, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do visit Suffolk on 20th June in connection with its inquiry into UK Biodiversity.–(The Chairman)

UK Biodiversity: Ms Annie Cooper, Chair ALGE, Ecologist, Derbyshire County Council and Mr Mike Oxford, Committee Member ALGE, Principal Ecologist, North Somerset Council, Association of Local Government Ecologists; Mr Graham Dean, Policy Officer, Local Government Association were examined;

Mr John Everitt, Biodiversity Planning Manager and Ms Sara Hawkswell, Biodiversity Information Manager, The Wildlife Trusts, were examined;

Dr Dick Potts, Director General and Dr Nigel Boatman, Head of Agricultural Policy, Game Conservancy Trust, were examined.

[Adjourned till Monday 19 June at a quarter to Four o'clock
   

MONDAY 19 JUNE 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

UK Biodiversity: Baroness Barbara Young, Chairman, Mr David Arnold-Foster, Chief Executive and Dr Andrew Brown, Director, English Nature; Dr Malcolm Vincent, Projects Director, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, were examined;

Mr Richard Wakeford, Chief Executive and Mr Richard Lloyd, Head of Farming and Forestry Branch, The Countryside Agency, were examined;

Mr Geoff Mance, Director of Water Management and Mr Paul Raven, Head of Conservation, Environment Agency, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 27 June at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 27 JUNE 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

UK Biodiversity: Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, MP, Minister for the Environment, Mr Elliot Morley, MP, Minister for Fisheries and the Countryside, Mr Roger Pritchard, Head, European Wildlife Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions and Mr John Osmond, Head, Conservation Management Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 4th July at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 4 JULY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Report (UK Biodiversity - Interim Report), be the Sixth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Twelfth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 441-I (1999-2000) p.ix).

Resolved, That the Report (The Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries), be the Seventh Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Thirteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 364-I (1999-2000) p.xxxix).

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Delivering Sustainable Waste Management.–(The Chairman.)

The Countryside Agency: Mr Ewen Cameron, Chairman, Mr Richard Wakeford, Chief Executive and Ms Pam Warhurst, Deputy Chairman, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 26th July at a quarter past Ten o'clock
   

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the Memoranda received by the Environment Sub-committee for the inquiry into Delivering Sustainable Waste Management by the specified deadline be reported to the House and printed.–(The Chairman).

[Adjourned till Tuesday 24th October at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 24 OCTOBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake

Christine Butler Mr James Gray Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Professor Robin Murray, was examined;

Mr Peter Jones, Director of Development and External Relations, Biffa Waste Services Ltd, was examined;

Mr Phillip Ward, Director of the Energy, Environment and Waste Directorate, Ms Cath Shaw, Head of Waste Strategy 3 Branch, and Mr Chris Megainey, Head of Hazardous Waste Team, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 31st October at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Cemeteries; the draft Water Bill; and Local Authority Governance.–(The Chairman).

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Mr Malcolm Chilton, Commercial Director, Energy Power Resources and Mr Tony Hirons, Communications Director, Energy from Waste Association; and Mr Keith Collins, Public Interest Consultants, were examined;

Mr John McCall and Mr Dino Adriano, Capel Action Group, were examined;

Mr Roger Hockney, Assistant Director (Environmental Planning) Leicestershire County Council, Chairman of the Planning Officers Society Waste Planning Advisory Group and Mr Andy Price, Head of Planning, Dorset County Council, Vice-Chairman of the Minerals and Waste Topics Group of the Planning Officers Society, Planning Officers Society, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 7 November at a quarter to Ten o'clock

   

TUESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Christine Butler Mr John Cummings

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Dr Jane Gilbert, Composting Association; and Mr David Middlemas, Community Composting Network, were examined;

Mr Michael Paske, Vice President, Dr Diane Mitchell, Environment Management Adviser, and Mr Michael Payne, Environment Consultant, National Farmers' Union, were examined;

Ms Sally Campbell, Company Director, South West England Environmental Trust, was examined;

Mr Stephen Tindale, Chief Policy Adviser and Mr Mark Strutt, Toxics Campaigner, Greenpeace, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 14 November at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Mr Ian Fielding, Hampshire County Council and Mr Patrick Coulter, Oxfordshire County Council, were examined;

Mr John Lea, Technical Services Director, Greater Manchester Waste; and Mr Andrew Gilbert, Chairman, North West Regional Technical Advisory Body, were examined;

Mr Peter Toombs, Policy Officer, Waste and Environmental Management and Mr Bob Lisney, Head of Management Resources, Hampshire County Council, Local Government Association; Mr Martin Easteal, Chief Executive, Chelmsford Borough Council and Honorary Secretary of the Consortium of Waste Collection Authorities and of the Waste Management Advisory Board for Essex and Southend-on-Sea; Mr David Tuthill, County Waste Manager, Essex Waste Disposal Authority, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 21 November at a quarter to Ten o'clock
   

TUESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.
Resolved, That the Report (UK Biodiversity), be the Eighth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

Ordered, That the Chairman do make the Report to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Environment Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Twentieth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 441 (1999-2000) p.lxiv).

Ordered, That the transcripts of evidence taken from Patricia Hewitt, a Member of the House, Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry, and Mr Stephen Timms, a Member of the House, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, on Tuesday 28 November; and Rt Hon. Michael Meacher, a Member of the House, Minister for the Environment, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on Tuesday 12 December, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Ms Jane Stephenson, Coordinator, The Recycling Consortium; and Mr Andy Moore, Coordinator, Community Recycling Network, were examined;

Ms Janet Asherson, Head of Environmental Affairs, and Ms Juliana Goldenberg, Legal Adviser, Waste Matters, Du Pont, Confederation of British Industry, were examined;

Mr John Turner, Chief Executive; and Ms Jane Bickerstaffe, Director, INCPEN, were examined;

Ms Sarah Oppenheimer, Waste Campaigner and Ms Liana Stupples, Campaigns Director, Friends of the Earth, were examined.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at a quarter past Twelve o'clock

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr John Cummings Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Dr Malcolm Aicken was examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 28 November at a quarter to Ten o'clock

TUESDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2000

Mr Andrew F. Bennett, in the Chair

Mr Hilary Benn Mr Crispin Blunt Mr Tom Brake Christine Butler

Mr John Cummings Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody Mrs Louise Ellman

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Delivering Sustainable Waste Management: Lord Cranbrook, Chairman, Dr Richard Sills, Chief Executive, and Neil Carrigan, Operations Director, ENTRUST, were examined.
Dr Paul Leinster, Director of Environment Protection, Mr Steve Lee, Head of Waste Policy, and Dr Martin Whitworth, Strategic Policy Manager, Environment Agency, were examined.

Mr Stephen Timms, MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Jon Anderson, Landfill Tax Team Leader, Customs & Excise, Patricia Hewitt, MP, Minister of State, and Mr Alistair Keddie, Director of Environment Directorate, Department of Trade and Industry, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 12 December at a quarter to Ten o'clock

PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRANSPORT SUB-COMMITTEE

WEDNESDAY 24 NOVEMBER 1999

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Millennium Compliance of the Transport Industry: Mr David Rowlands, Director General, Railways, Aviation, Logistics and Maritime, Mr Roy Griffins, Director, Aviation Directorate, and Mr David Cooke, Divisional Manager, Shipping Policy, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 December at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 1 DECEMBER 1999

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do visit Croydon, Greenwich and the Docklands on 19 January 2000 in connection with its inquiry into Light Rapid Transit Systems.–(The Chairman.)

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Proposed Public-Private Partnership For National Air Traffic Services: Mr Christopher Darke, General Secretary, Mr Mike Sparham, Assistant General Secretary, Ms Carolyn Evans, Technical Secretary, and Dr John McGurk, Head of Research, British Airlines Pilots Association, and, Captain C L Hodgkinson, Technical Director, and Mr A G Thorning, Technical and Air Safety Committee, Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators, were examined;

Mr Paul Noon, General Secretary, Mr Iain Findlay, National Officer, and Mr Robin Morris, Chair of NATS Trade Unions, Institute of Professionals, Managers and Specialists, and Mr Terry Adams, National Officer, and Mr Paul Lewis, Chair NATS Branch, Public and Commercial Services Union, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 8 December at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 8 DECEMBER 1999

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr Bill O'Brien

Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken today from the Minister for Transport and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Proposed Public-Private Partnership For National Air Traffic Services: Sir Roy McNulty, Chairman, and Mr Bill Semple, Chief Executive, National Air Traffic Services, were examined;

Sir Malcolm Field, Chairman, and Mr Richard Profit, Group Director, Safety Regulation Group, Civil Aviation Authority, were examined;

The Rt Hon Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Transport, Mr Chris Mullin, a Member of the House, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr Ian McBrayne, Division Manager, Civil Aviation Division, and Mr David McMillan, Division Manager, Civil Aviation Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 15 December at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER 1999

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

London Underground: Mr Denis Tunnicliffe, Chief Executive of London Transport and Executive Chairman of London Underground, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 January 2000 at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 12 JANUARY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into the Road Haulage Industry.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, that the Sub-committee do recommend that the Main Committee hold an inquiry into Inland Waterways.

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Light Rapid Transit Systems: Mr Tony Depledge, Managing Director, Blackpool Transport Services and President of CPT, and Mr Geoff Lusher, General Manager, Travel Midland Metro and Chairman of CPT's Fixed Track Section, Confederation of Passenger Transport (UK), and Mr Jim Coates, Member of the Transport & Logistics Policy Committee, and Mr Reg Harmon, Director of Logistics & Transport Policies, Institute of Logistics and Transport, were examined;

Mr Michael Taplin, Chairman, Mr Geoffrey Claydon, Vice-President, and Mr Robert Tarr, Secretary General, Light Rail Transit Association, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 26 January at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 26 JANUARY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Draft Report [The Proposed Public-Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the First Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.–(The Chairman.)

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Third Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 35 (1999-2000) p.xxx).

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Light Rapid Transit Systems: Mr Chris Mulligan, Director General, Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, Mr Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General, Merseytravel, Mr Rob Donald, Director General, Centro, Mr Roy Wickes, Director General, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, and Mr Bill Scott, Assistant Project Director, Operations, Nexus, Passenger Transport Executive Group, were examined;

Mr Richard Smith, Director of Transport Strategy, and Mr Jon Willis, Project Development Manager, London Transport, and, Dr David Quarmby, Chairman, and Mr Ian Brown, Chief Executive, Docklands Light Railway Limited, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 16 February at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into the Funding of London Underground.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do take evidence from Lord Whitty, Parliamentary Under-Secretary, on road safety, after publication of the road safety strategy.–(The Chairman.)

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from Mr Keith Hill, a Member of the House, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, in connection with the inquiry into Light Rapid Transit Systems on Wednesday 1 March, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 1 MARCH 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

The Sub-committee noted that the Light Rapid Transit Association had asked for permission to publish its evidence, and specifically to pass it to the Transport and Environment Committee of the Scottish Parliament. The Sub-committee agreed that the Association should not be given permission to pass the evidence to the Scottish Parliament, and that if it chose to publish its evidence it would no longer be regarded as evidence to the Sub-committee.

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Light Rapid Transit Systems: Mr Ian Buchan, Business Development Director, and Mr Peter Hendy, Deputy Director, UK Bus and Divisional Director, London & South East, FirstGroup Plc, and, Mr François-Xavier Perin, Managing Director, and Mr Nick Buckley, Executive Director, Transdev Plc, were examined;

Mr Keith Hill, a Member of the House, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr Richard Bird, Director, Integrated and Local Transport Directorate, and Mr Mike Walsh, Head of Economics, Local Transport and General Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 8 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 8 MARCH 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Clifford Forsythe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United states.–(The Chairman.)

The Sub-committee further deliberated.
Road Haulage Industry: Mr John Bridge OBE, National Chairman, and Mr Roger King, Chief Executive, Road Haulage Association, were examined;

Mr Andrew Malcolm, Group Managing Director, The Malcolm Group, Mr Derrick Potter, Chief Executive, The Potter Group, and Mr Keith Boardall, Group Managing Director, The Reed Boardall Group, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 15 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 15 MARCH 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Clifford Forsythe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Road Haulage Industry: Mr Richard Turner, Deputy Director General, and Mr James Hookham, Executive Director, Transport Policy, Freight Transport Association, and Mr David Brown, Managing Director, National Operations (UK), and Mr Andrew Parkhouse, Head of Policy Development, Exel Logistics, were examined;

Mr Doug Thorogood, Transport Spokesman, and Mr Stephen Alambritis, Head of Press and Parliamentary Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses, were examined;

Mr Danny Bryan, National Secretary for Road Transport (Commercial), Mr Ron Webb, National Officer for Road Transport (Commercial), Mr Jimmy Hill, Chair of Road Transport (Commercial) National Committee, and Mr Stephen Ball, TGWU Representative from Road Transport (Commercial) National Committee, Transport and General Workers' Union, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 22 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 22 MARCH 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Clifford Forsythe Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Road Haulage Industry: Mr David Lowe, Chairman of the Freight Special Interest Group, and Mr Graham Ewer, Chief Executive, The Institute of Logistics and Transport, and Mr Mike Gidlow, Chairman, Automobile Division, Mr Andrew Ives, Ordinary Member of Council of the Institution, and Mr David Atton, Manager, Aerospace and Automobile Division, The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, were examined;

Mr Allen Marsden, Regional and Local Government Manager, English, Welsh and Scottish Railway, Ms Diana Linnett, Director of the Rail Freight Group, and Ms Tara Garnett, Freight on Rail Campaigner, Freight on Rail, and, Mr George Boyle, Member of the Freight Committee, The Railway Development Society, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 29 March at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe

Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Road Haulage Industry: Mr John Newton, NWT Freight Forwarding (Southern) Ltd, Mr Edward Stobart, Eddie Stobart Limited, Mr Edward Roderick, Christian Salvesen, and Mr Vaughan Woolfitt, MARU International Limited, Shadow Road Haulage Forum, were examined;

Lord Whitty, a Member of the House of Lords, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Angela Moss, Head of Road Haulage Division, and Mr Iain Todd, Head of Transport, Environment and Taxation Division, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 5 April at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 5 APRIL 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

The Funding of London Underground: Mrs Susan Kramer, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London, was examined;

Mr Ken Livingstone, a Member of the House, Independent candidate for Mayor of London, was examined;

Mr Steven Norris, Conservative candidate for Mayor of London, was examined;

The Rt Hon Frank Dobson, a Member of the House, Labour candidate for Mayor of London, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 April at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr Clifford Forsythe

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken from the Rt Hon John Prescott , a Member of the House, Deputy Prime Minister, and Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, in connection with the inquiry into the Funding of London Underground, on Monday 17 April, be placed uncorrected onto the internet.–(The Chairman.)

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

The Funding of London Underground: Professor Stephen Glaister, University of London Centre for Transport Studies, Mr Declan Gaffney, School of Public Policy, University College London, and Dr Jean Shaoul, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Manchester, were examined;

Mr Denis Tunnicliffe, Chief Executive, and Mr Martin Callaghan, Director of PPP, London Underground, London Transport, were examined;

Professor The Lord Currie of Marylebone, a Member of the House of Lords, and Mr Martin Siner, Research Officer, Regulation Initiative, London Business School, were examined.

[Adjourned till Monday 17 April at Twelve o'clock.

MONDAY 17 APRIL 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

The Funding of London Underground: The Rt Hon John Prescott, a Member of the House, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State, The Rt Hon Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Transport, and Mr Mike Fuhr, Director, London Underground Task Group, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, and Mr Paul Davies, PricewaterhouseCoopers, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 19 APRIL 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Clifford Forsythe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Road Safety: The Lord Whitty, a Member of the House of Lords, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr John Plowman, Head of Road Safety and Environment Directorate, and Mr John Kerman, Quality Services Director, Highways Agency, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 3 May at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 3 MAY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do take evidence from Professor David Begg, Chairman of the Commission for Integrated Transport, on Wednesday 19 July.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the matter of pedestrianisation be referred to the main Committee.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 17 May at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 17 MAY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Draft Report [Light Rapid Transit Systems], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Second Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Eighth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 153 (1999-2000) p.xl).

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network.–(The Chairman.)

Departmental Annual Report 2000 and Expenditure Plans 2000-01 to 2001-02: The Rt Hon Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Transport, Mr Willy Rickett, Head of the Integrated Transport Task Force, Mr David Rowlands, Director-General, Railways, Aviation, Logistics and Maritime, Mr Richard Bird, Director, Integration and Local Transport, and Mr Peter McCarthy, Head of Finance, Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 24 May at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 24 MAY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr James Gray

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.
Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States: Mr Fred W. Smith, Chairman and CEO, and Mr Rush O'Keefe, Vice President–Legal, Federal Express Corporation, and, Mr Nigel Goodson, Director of Public Affairs (UK), and Mr Morgan Foulkes, International Public Affairs Manager, UPS (UK) Limited, were examined;

Mr Philip Meeson, Chief Executive, Channel Express (Air Services) Ltd, and Mr Steve Guynan, Secretary, British Cargo Airline Alliance, were examined;

Sir Michael Bishop, Chairman, and Mr Tony Davis, Director of Government and Industry Relations, British Midland Airways Limited, were examined.

[Adjourned till Tuesday 6 June at Four o'clock.

TUESDAY 6 JUNE 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner

The Sub-committee deliberated.

[Adjourned till tomorrow at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 7 JUNE 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in BAA plc, BAE SYSTEMS and British Airways plc.

Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States: Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, Chairman, Mr Roger Maynard, Director of Investments and Joint Ventures, and Mr Mike Hall, Head of International Relations, British Airways, were examined;

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, and Mr Barry Humphreys, Director of External Affairs and Route Development, Virgin Atlantic, were examined;

Mr Vijendran Alfreds, General Manager, United Kingdom and Ireland, and Mr Gerry Stevens, Marketing Manager, United Kingdom and Ireland, Singapore Airlines Limited, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 14 June at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States: Mr Richard Everitt, Director of Strategy and Compliance, BAA plc, was examined;

Mr Geoff Muirhead, Chief Executive, Ms Rowena Burns, Director of Corporate Affairs, and Ms Louise Congdon, General Manager, Strategy, Manchester Airport, were examined;

Mr Stephan Egli, Vice-President, Europe, and Mr John Moloney, General Manager, Government Affairs, Delta Airlines, and, Mr Hershel Kamen, Staff Vice-President, International and Regulatory Affairs, and Mr Michael Carter, Senior Director, United Kingdom and Ireland, Continental Airlines, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 21 June at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 21 JUNE 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States: Mr Richard Roberts, Commercial Director, and Mr Eddie Redfern, Licencing Manager, Air 2000 Limited, were examined;

Mr George Ryde, Chairman of the Forum, Mr Mike Sparham, Secretary of the Forum, Dr John McGurk, Head of Research, and Mr Peter Reed, Economic Adviser, Aviation Forum, were examined;

Mr Roy Griffins, Director, Aviation Directorate, Mr Tony Baker, Director of International Aviation Negotiations, and Mr Michael Smethers, Divisional Manager, Multilateral Division (Aviation), Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 28 June at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Ordered, That the transcript of evidence taken before the Sub-committee on 21 June be placed in the Library of the House.–(The Chairman.)

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States: Mr Bob Cotterill, Head of Economic Regulation and Policy, Mr Trevor Smedley, Head of Policy and Strategy, and Mr David Batchelor, Head of International Aviation Policy, Civil Aviation Authority, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 5 July at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey Donaldson Mr Brian Donohoe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Draft Report [Funding of London Underground], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Third Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fourteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 411 (1999-2000) p.xx).

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in FirstGroup plc and Railtrack plc.

Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network: Mr Gerald Corbett, Chief Executive, Mr Richard Middleton, Director, Commercial, and Mr John Smith, Head of Regulation and Government, Railtrack plc, were examined;

Mr Giles Fearnley, Chairman, Mr Chris Green, Board Member, and Mr Alec McTavish, Director of Policy, Association of Train Operating Companies, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 12 July at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 12 JULY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into the Transport-related Executive Agencies of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.–(The Chairman.)

Draft Report [The Road Haulage Industry], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fourth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Fifteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 296 (1999-2000) p.xlviii).

The Sub-committee further deliberated.

Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network: Sir Alastair Morton, Chairman, Mr Mike Grant, Chief Executive, and Mr Terence Jenner, Solicitor, Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, were examined;

Mr Tom Winsor, the Rail Regulator, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 19 July at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 19 JULY 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Developments at National Air Traffic Services.–(The Chairman.)

The Work of the Commission for Integrated Transport: Professor David Begg, Chairman of the Commission, was examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 26 July at Ten o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 2000

[MORNING SITTING]

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian Donohoe Mr James Gray Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in BAA plc, BAE SYSTEMS and British Airways plc.

Draft Report [Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Fifth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Eighteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 532 (1999-2000) p.xxxix).

[Adjourned till this day at One o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 26 JULY 2000

[AFTERNOON SITTING]

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Brian Donohoe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

10-Year Plan for Transport: The Rt Hon Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, a Member of the House of Lords, Minister for Transport, and Mr Willy Rickett, Head of the Integrated Transport Task Force, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 25 October at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Brian Donohoe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O' Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Draft Report [The Work of the Commission for Integrated Transport], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Sixth Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the Nineteenth Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 725 (1999-2000) p.vii).

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do visit LATCC at West Drayton on 9 December in connection with the inquiry into Developments at National Air Traffic Services.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Recent Events on the Railway.–(The Chairman.)

[Adjourned till Wednesday 1 November at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Mr James Gray

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Recent Events on the Railway; Mr Gerald Corbett, Chief Executive, Mr Richard Middleton, Director, Commercial, and Mr Chris Leah, Director, Safety & Environment, Railtrack plc, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 8 November at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 8 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian H Donohoe Miss Anne McIntosh

Mr Bill O'Brien Mr Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Developments at National Air Traffic Services: Mr Iain Findlay, National Officer, Mr Andy Mooney, Branch Secretary, Telecoms Branch, Mr Angus McCormack, Branch Secretary, ATCOs, Mr Laurence King, Assistant Branch Secretary, ATCOs, and Mr Nick Ewing, Air Traffic Control Officer, Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists, were examined;

Sir Roy McNulty, Chairman, and Mr Colin Chisholm, Chief Executive, National Air Traffic Services Limited, were examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 15 November at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman

Dr Stephen Ladyman Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' Union.

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in FirstGroup plc and Railtrack plc.

Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network: Mr James Knapp, General Secretary, and Mr Stephen Yandell, Research Officer, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, were examined;

Mr Chris Mulligan, Director General, Greater Manchester PTE, Mr Kieran Preston, Director General, West Yorkshire PTE, and Mr Neil Scales, Chief Executive and Director General, Merseytravel, Passenger Transport Executive Group, were examined;

Mr Richard Brown, Chairman, Mr George Muir, Director General, and Mr Keith Ludeman, Association of Train Operating Companies, were examined

[Adjourned till Wednesday 22 November at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody in the Chair,

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson Mr Brian H Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in FirstGroup plc and Railtrack plc.

Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network: Lord Berkeley, Chairman, Rail Freight Group, was examined;

Sir Philip Beck, Chairman, and Mr Steven Marshall, Chief Executive, Railtrack plc, were examined; Mr Richard Middleton, Technical Director, Railtrack plc, was further examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 29 November at a quarter to Four o'clock.

WEDNESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2000

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair

Mr Andrew F Bennett Mr Brian Donohoe Mrs Teresa Gorman Dr Stephen Ladyman

Miss Anne McIntosh Mr Bill O'Brien M r Bill Olner Mr George Stevenson

The Sub-committee deliberated.

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into Opportunities and Development Prospects at Major Ports.–(The Chairman.)

Resolved, That the Sub-committee do inquire into the Maintenance of Motorways, Trunk Roads and Local Authority Principal Roads.–(The Chairman.)

Miss Anne McIntosh declared a pecuniary interest as the holder of shares in FirstGroup plc and Railtrack plc.

Draft Report [Recent Events on the Railway], proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.

Resolved, That the Report be the Seventh Report of the Sub-committee to the Committee.

(The Minutes of Proceedings of the Sub-committee relating to the consideration of the Report are published in the First Report from the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Committee, HC 17 (2000-01) p.xiii).

Rail Investment: Renewal, Maintenance and Development of the Rail Network: Sir Alastair Morton, Chairman, and Mr Mike Grant, Chief Executive, Shadow Strategic Rail Authority, were further examined.

[Adjourned till Wednesday 6 December at Five o'clock.

ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE REPORTS IN THE CURRENT PARLIAMENT

Session 1997-98

First Report: Regional Development Agencies (HC415)

Second Report: Sewage Treatment and Disposal (HC 266-I)

Third Report: The Proposed Strategic Rail Authority and Railway Regulation (HC 286-I)

Fourth Report: Air Traffic Control (HC 360-I)

Fifth Report: The Future for Allotments (HC 560-I)

Sixth Report: Sustainable Waste Management (HC 484-I)

Seventh Report: London Underground (HC 715-I)

Eighth Report: Regional Air Services (HC 589-I)

Ninth Report: English Nature (HC 790)

Tenth Report: Housing (HC 495-I)

Eleventh Report: Implementation of the Best Value Framework (HC 705-I)

Twelfth Report: The Departmental Annual Report 1998 and Expenditure 1998-99 (HC 844)

Thirteenth Report: The Protection of Field Boundaries (HC 969-I)

First Special Report: Government Response to the First Report of the Transport Committee (1996-97): The Road and Bridge Maintenance Programme (HC 234)

Second Special Report: Government Response to the First Report of the Committee: Regional Development Agencies (HC 645)

Third Special Report: Government Response to the Fourth Report of the Committee: Air Traffic Control (HC 843)

Fourth Special Report: Responses from the Government and English Nature Ninth Report of the Committee: English Nature (HC 1137)

Session 1998-99

First Report: Railway Safety (HC 30)

Second Report: Millennium Compliance in the Transport Industry (HC 90)

Third Report: The Future of National Air Traffic Services (HC 122)

Fourth Report: The Countryside Agency (HC 6)

Fifth Report: Regional Eurostar Services (HC 89)

Sixth Report: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (HC 31)

Seventh Report: Meeting with the European Commission Officials to Discuss Air Transport
(HC 272)

Eighth Report: Local Government Finance (HC 78-I)

Ninth Report: Integrated Transport White Paper (HC 32-I)

Tenth Report: Regional Development Agencies (HC 232)

Eleventh Report: Reducing the Environmental Impact of Consumer Products (HC 149)

Twelfth Report: The Future of the UK Shipping Industry (HC 172)

Thirteenth Report: The Operation of the Landfill Tax (HC 150)

Fourteenth Report: Aviation Safety (HC 275)

Fifteenth Report: Departmental Annual Report 1999 and Expenditure Plans 1999-2002 (HC 440)

Sixteenth Report: Multilateral Environmental Agreements (HC 307)

Seventeenth Report: Housing: PPG3 (HC 490)

Eighteenth Report: Tendered Bus Services (HC 429)

Nineteenth Report: Young and Newly-Qualified Drivers: Standards and Training (HC 515)

Twentieth Report: Town and Country Parks (HC 477)

Twenty First Report: Railways Bill (HC 827)

First Special Report: Health and Safety Commission and Executive Response to the First Report of the Committee: Railway Safety (HC 352)

Second Special Report: Government Response to the Second Report of the Committee: Millennium Compliance in the Transport Industry (HC 383)

Third Special Report: Government Response to the Ninth Report of the Committee: Integrated Transport White Paper (HC 708)

Fourth Special Report: Government Response to the Third Report of the Committee: The Future of National Air Traffic Services (HC 794)

Fifth Special Report: Government Response to the Tenth Report of the Committee: Regional Development Agencies (HC 867)

Session 1999-2000

First Report: Potential Risk of Fire Spread in Buildings via External Cladding Systems (HC 109)

Second Report: Environmental Impact of Supermarket Competition (HC 120)

Third Report: The Proposed Public-Private Partnership for National Air Traffic Services Limited (HC 35)

Fourth Report: The Work of the Health and Safety Executive (HC 31-I)

Fifth Report: UK Climate Change Programme (HC 194-I)
Sixth Report: The Environment Agency (HC 34-I)

Seventh Report: Rural White Paper (HC 32)

Eighth Report: Light Rapid Transit Systems (HC 153)

Ninth Report: Travelling Fairs (HC 284-I)

Tenth Report: Audit Commission (HC 174-I)

Eleventh Report: Proposed Urban White Paper (HC 185-I)

Twelfth Report: UK Biodiversity: Interim Report (HC 441-I)

Thirteenth Report: Planning Inspectorate and Public Inquiries (HC 364-I)

Fourteenth Report: Funding of London Underground (HC 411)

Fifteenth Report: The Road Haulage Industry (HC 296)

Sixteenth Report: Gap Funding (HC 714)

Seventeenth Report: Departmental Annual Report 2000-01 to 2001-02 (HC 471)

Eighteenth Report: Air Service Agreements between the United Kingdom and the United States (HC 532)

Nineteenth Report: The Work of the Commission for Integrated Transport (HC 725-I)

Twentieth Report: UK Biodiversity (HC 441)

First Special Report: Government Response to the Second Report the Environment Committee (Session 1996-97): Contaminated Land (HC 61)

Second Special Report: Government Response to the First Report of the Committee: Potential Risk of Fire Spread in Buildings via External Cladding Systems (HC 389)

Third Special Report: Response from the Environment Agency to the Sixth Report of the Committee: The Environment Agency (HC 870)

Fourth Special Report: Response from the Government to the Ninth Report of the Committee: Travelling Fairs (HC 871)

Fifth Special Report: Response from the Government to the Eighth Report of the Committee: Light Rapid Transit Systems (HC 872)

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Prepared: 3 May 2001