Sessional Returns Session 1999-2000 - Contents


B. SELECT COMMITTEE ATTENDANCE, WORK, PUBLICATIONS ETC

12. Environmental Audit

The Committee was nominated on 12 November 1997.
It had 16 Members and held 30 meetings.


Members
Meetings attended

Horam, Mr John (Chairman)
30
Baker, Mr Norman (discharged, 9.2.00)
0
Blizzard, Mr Bob (discharged, 3.3.00)
3
Body, Sir Richard (added, 18.1.00)
6
Brinton, Mrs Helen
17
Chaytor, Mr David (added, 30.3.00)
14
Dafis, Mr Cynog (discharged, 11.1.00)
0
Gerrard, Mr Neil
24
Grieve, Mr Dominic
11
Iddon, Dr Brian (discharged, 30.3.00)
10
Jones, Mr Jon Owen (added, 25.11.99)
20
Keetch, Mr Paul (added, 9.2.00)
6
Loughton, Mr Tim
14
1Meacher, Mr Michael
0
Robertson, Mr Laurence (discharged, 18.1.00)
0
Russell, Ms Christine (added, 14.12.99)
16
Savidge, Mr Malcolm
16
Sawford, Mr Phil (added, 3.3.00)
1
Shaw, Mr Jonathan
10
Thomas, Mr Gareth R (Harrow West) (discharged, 25.11.99)
0
Thomas, Mr Simon (added, 14.2.00)
17
Truswell, Mr Paul (discharged, 14.12.99)
0
Walley, Joan
24

1 Held a Ministerial post while being a member of the Committee: The Minister for the Environment has ex officio membership of the Committee.
2 Overall attendance:
49.8 %
Number of Members added:
6
Number of Members discharged:
6
Turnover of membership during the Session:
38%
2 Taking into account the Minister's position, actual overall attendance in 1999-2000 was 53.1%

Staff
Clerk of the Committee: Mr Fergus Reid, Senior Clerk (Band A2).
Committee Specialists: Mr Eric Lewis (seconded from the National Audit Office) (Grade 7); Miss Emma Downing (seconded from the Library) (Band A3).
Committee Assistant: Ms Tracy Herd, Higher Executive Officer (Band B2).
Secretary: Mrs Jane Cooper, Secretary (Band D1) (until 28.2.00); Ms Nicky Harte (temporary)(from 6.3.00 until 20.4.00); Mrs Melanie Barklem, Secretary (Band D1) (from 2.5.00).

Specialist Advisers during the Session
Mr Duncan Brack, Professor Paul Ekins, Mr Paul Herrington, Mr Chris Hewett, Ms Julie Hill, Professor Gerald Manners, Mr Alastair Fulton, Mr Alister Scott, Mr Neil Summerton and Mr David Wilkinson.

Witnesses
Oral evidence was given during the Session by the following categories of witnesses:
     Number of appearances by:
          Cabinet Ministers
1
          Other Ministers
5
     Ministerial appearances by Members of the House of Lords
1
     Number of appearances by officials from, or representatives of
          Government departments
14
               comprising:
               Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions
7
               Department of Trade and Industry
2
               HM Treasury
5
          executive agencies
6
               Environment Agency
6
          public bodies and non-Ministerial departments
4
               comprising:
               English Nature
2
               Office of Water Services (Ofwat)
2
     Appearances by other witnesses
35


Overseas Visits

Date
Destination
Members
Staff
Purpose
Cost
7-12.5.00
Ottawa and Toronto, Canada
12
2
Inquiry into Environmental Audit: the first Parliament
£43,967.21

Visits to European Institutions

None.

UK Visits

Date
Destination
Members
Staff
Purpose
Cost
27.6.00
Vivendi Technical Centre, Watford
2*
5A
Inquiry into Water Prices and the Environment
£0.00
4.7.00
Fazakerley Waste Water Treatment Works, Warrington
4
5B
Inquiry into Water Prices and the Environment
£1,760.00


A Includes 2 specialist advisers and 1work experience student
B Includes 1 special adviser and 2 work experience students
* Travel in a representative capacity

Reports and Minutes of Evidence

Title
HC No. (1999-00)
Date of publication
No. of pages
Sale price
Government reply
First Report: EU Policy and the environment: An agenda for the Helsinki Summit
44
25.11.99
107
£13.60
Received 29.2.00*
Second Report: World Trade and Sustainable Development: An agenda for the Seattle Summit
45
25.11.99
146
£17.00
Received 1.2.00*
Memoranda: The Sustainable Development Strategy
175
3.2.00
168
£18.00
Not applicable
Third Report: Comprehensive Spending Review: Government Response and follow-up
233
14.2.00
32
£7.00
Received 28.6.00*
Fourth Report: The Pre-Budget Report 1999: pesticides, aggregates and the Climate Change Levy
76-I
29.2.00
52
£9.70
Received 18.5.00; published in Sixth Report, Session 1999-2000
Minutes of Evidence and Appendices
76-II
6.3.00
242
£25.00
Not applicable
Fifth Report: The Greening Government Initiative: First Annual Report from the Green Ministers Committee
341
28.3.00
35
£8.00
Cm 4819, published 27.7.00
Minutes of Evidence: EU Policy and the Environment: follow-up
312-i
18.5.00
51
£9.70
Not required
Sixth Report: Budget 2000 and the Environment
404
25.7.00
84
£11.50
Received 27.10.00*
Seventh Report: Water Prices and the Environment
597-I
14.11.00
63
£9.70
Awaited
Minutes of Evidence and Appendices
597-II
14.11.00
224
£9.70
Not applicable

*Reported to the House and placed in the Library; awaiting formal publication

Government replies to Reports for Session 1998-99
Reply to the Committee's First Report of 1998-99: The Multilateral Agreement on Investment, published in the Committee's Second Report of Session 1999-2000, HC 45, 25.11.99.

Reply to the Committee's Third Report of 1998-99: The Comprehensive Spending Review and Public Service Agreements, published in the Committee's Third Report of Session 1999-2000, HC 233, 14.2.00.

Reply to the Committee's Eighth Report of 1998-99: The Budget 1999: Environmental Implications, published in the Committee's Fourth Report of Session 1999-2000, HC 76, 29.2.00.

Minutes of Proceedings
The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee for Session 1998-99 were published on 16.12.99 as HC 900, Session 1998-99. The Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee for Session 1999-2000 will be published as HC 777, Session 1999-2000.

Divisions
None.

Debates
The following Report was debated in Westminster Hall:

Fifth Report, Session 1998-99, GMOs and the Environment: Coordination of Government Policy, on a Government Motion for the Adjournment of the House (GMOs and Biotechnology), 13.1.00.

The following Reports were referred to on the Order Paper as being relevant to debates in the House:

First Report, Session 1999-2000, EU Policy and the Environment: An agenda for the Helsinki Summit, on a Government Motion for the Adjournment of the House (European Union), 1.12.99.

Second Report, Session 1999-2000, World Trade and Sustainable Development: An agenda for the Seattle Summit, on a Government Motion for the Adjournment of the House (World Trade Organisation Millennium Round), 9.12.99.

Opinions
Response to Reference from the European Scrutiny Committee on The European Commission White Paper on Environmental Liability, COM (00)66. The White Paper was debated in European Standing Committee A on 14.6.00.  

Oral Evidence
Oral evidence was taken at 14 of the Committee's 30 meetings. On none of these occasions was evidence taken partly or wholly in private.

Inquiry
No. of oral evidence sessions
Pre-Budget Report 1999
4
Sustainable Development Strategy*
1
European Policy and the Environment: follow-up
1
Budget 2000 and the Environment
1
Environmental Audit: the First Parliament*
2
Energy Efficiency: follow-up*
1
Water Prices and the Environment
4
Total
 14

*The Committee did not complete this inquiry in Session 1999-2000


 
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