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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many people are employed by (a) Forest Enterprise, (b) the Meat Hygiene Service, (c) the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and (d) the Sustainable Development Commission; what the running cost of each body was in the last year for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement on the future of each body. [203744] Alun Michael: The Forest Enterprise is an Executive agency of the Forestry Commission which has supplied the following information. The Forestry Enterprise employs 750 full time equivalents in England and its net operating costs were £22.7 million. The Meat Hygiene Service is an Executive agency of the Food Standards Agency and ministerial responsibility lies with the Department for Health. The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution and the Sustainable Development Commission are advisory NDPBs and the running costs for each are included with Defra's accounts but are not separately identifiable. The total sponsorship and/or funding cost to the Department (which would include remuneration and expenses of members, administrative costs, research/programme funding and any other cost to the department directly related to the sponsorship of the body) for the last financial year is given as follows. The figures do not include funding given for specific additional projects that have been undertaken during the period. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Body Staff employed Expenditure/ funding by Defra (£) Sustainable Development Commission 0 679,000 Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution 12 956,000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. We keep these bodies under review, in accordance with Government guidelines, to ensure that its functions are still required and that the they still provide the most effective means of carrying out those functions.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

203744; 428 c1097W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Public bodies Staff Meat Hygiene Service Forest Enterprise Environmental Pollution Royal Commission Sustainable Development Commission Operating costs

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk