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COMMITTEE FOR THE ENVIRONMENT RESPONSES

Public Bodies Bill – Legislative Consent Motion

  1. The Department of the Environment wrote to the Committee on 16 February 2011 to advise of the intention of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to seek the agreement of the Assembly to a Legislative Consent Motion (LCM) in relation to the Public Bodies Bill which was introduced by the UK Government in the House of Lords on 28 October, 2010.
  2. The First Minister and deputy First Minister were consulting their Committee about the LCM, but as some of the bodies listed in the Schedules contained in the Bill were of interest to the DOE the letter provided further details of the proposals.
  3. Of interest to the DOE were the following bodies :

Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances (Schedule 1);
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (Schedules 3 and 7);
Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (established under section 124 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) (Schedule 7); and
Committee on Climate Change (Schedule 7).

  1. The Committee for the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister also wrote to the Committee to inform members of the Legislative Consent Motion.
  2. The letter informed the Committee that the Public Bodies Bill is an enabling Bill containing a series of order making powers corresponding to the UK Government’s proposals for the bodies listed in each of seven schedules. These powers will allow for abolition; merger and reform (to the constitution, funding and functions of the bodies); a power to make transfer schemes (relating to property, staff etc) consequent upon changes; and a power to move any body listed in Schedule 7 into another schedule to the Bill, thereby making it subject to the particular power to which that schedule relates.
  3. The Committee for the Environment considered the Legislative Consent Motion at its meeting on 24 February 2011 and agreed to support it.