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Air quality advisory panel opens up to greater public scrutiny
08/11/1999
The work of the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) will be published on the Internet as part of the Scottish Executive's drive to increase the public accountability of advisory bodies.
Announcing the reappointment of the Chair and members of EPAQS Minister for Transport and the Environment Sarah Boyack stressed the need for a greater sense of openness among Government appointed bodies.
Ms Boyack said:
"The Government is committed to making advisory bodies such as this one more open and accountable. Anyone with an interest in the Panel's work and in air pollution will now be able to access agendas and minutes of meetings on the Internet. The Panel's Annual Report, as well as draft reports for comment, will also be available.
"This is a step forward in the Government's drive to open up the process of how advice is given and decisions are made."
The Panel, chaired by Professor Anthony Seaton of the University of Aberdeen Medical School, has been given a new work programme which will include a review of the standard of 1,3-butadiene. A place has also been made on EPAQS for a member of the Department of Health's Committee on Carcinogenicity in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to provide advice on those pollutants which cause cancer.
BACKGROUND
1. The Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) was set up in 1991 to advise Government on air quality standards. The Panel and members include medical and air pollution experts.
2. The Government is committed to making the operation of advisory committees such as EPAQS more open and to increase the accountability of these bodies. Proposals have been published in 'Quangos - Opening the Doors' (Cabinet Office, July 1998). 'Programme for Government' (Scottish Executive, September 1999) commits the Scottish Executive to open government. EPAQS have recently agreed a number of options for greater openness of Panel business.
3. The Panel publishes reports on individual pollutants. These are available on the Internet ( http://www.environment.detr.gov.uk/airq/aqhome.htm) and from The Stationery Office.
4. Members of EPAQS are:
Professor Anthony Seaton, CBE,MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FFOM, FmedSci (Chairman).
Professor Jon G Ayres BSc, MBBS, MD, FRCP, FRSA.
Professor H Ross Anderson, MD, MSc, FFPHM.
Dr Peter J Baxter MD, MSc, FRCP, FFOM.
Professor Peter G J Burney MA, MD, FRCP, FFPHM.
Dr John W Cherrie BSc, PhD, FBIOH.
Dr Anne E Cockcroft MD, RECP, DIH, FFOM.
Professor David N M Coggon MA, PhD, DM, FRCP, FFOM, FmedSci.
Dr Dick G Derwent MA, PhD.
Professor Roy M Harrison PhD, DSc, FRSC, REMetS, Hon MFPHM, Hon FFOM.
Professor Stephen R Holgate, BSc, MD, DSc, FRCP, FRCPE, Cbiol, FIBiol, FRSA, FmedSci.
Mr J Fintan Hurley MA.
5. Further information on the Panel is available from the EPAQS Secretariat at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Air and Environmental Quality Division, 4/G15, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6DE.
News Release: SE1210/1999
8 Nov 1999