Further written evidence submitted by
the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, Northern
Ireland Executive
Thank you for your letter of 23 November regarding
the above. Clearly there is some ambiguity between the evidence
sessions noted in your letter about the nature of consultation
on the Defra decision to withdraw funding from SDC.
We were not consulted by Defra with regard to its
decision to withdraw its funding from SDC. We have no record or
recollection of any contact from Defra in this regard. The Secretary
of State for Environment informed us by letter on 14 July 2010
that she intended, on 22 July 2010, to announce her decision to
discontinue Defra funding and seeking our co-operation in winding
up the SDC Company. As mentioned in the evidence we have already
supplied to the Committee that we were disappointed by this decision.
We did not, and have not, provided any written or oral indication
of our support for the decision.
We do recognise that the withdrawal of Defra funding
from SDC means that it is impossible for it to continue as a viable
organisation. Therefore, we are co-operating in the winding-down
procedure, through representation on the SDC Transition Project
Board, with the intention of facilitating what we acknowledge
to be a very difficult and traumatic process for all SDC staff
involved.
We hope this provides the clarification you need.
We are copying this letter to the Secretary of State for Defra,
First Minister of Scotland and First Minister of Wales.
15 December 2010
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