Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution

Four new members have been appointed to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution by HM the Queen. They are:

• Professor Paul Ekins;
• Professor Stephen Holgate;
• Mr John Speirs; and
• Professor Janet Sprent OBE.

Three existing members of the Commission have also been reappointed. They are:

• Mr John Flemming CBE;
• Professor Brian Hoskins CBE; and
• Dr Susan Owens OBE.

Appointments to the Royal Commission are made by HM The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. He acted on a recommendation from Margaret Beckett (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), which had been agreed with Ross Finnie (Minister for Environment and Rural Development, Scottish Executive), Sue Essex (Minister for the Environment, National Assembly for Wales), and Sam Foster (Minister of the Environment, Northern Ireland Executive).

All members serve in a personal capacity and do not represent any organisation with which they may be associated. Commission members receive a daily fee (currently set at £193) and any necessary travel and subsistence expenses.

Dr Peter Hinchcliffe, previously Head of Chemicals and Biotechnology Division in DEFRA, has been appointed full-time Secretary to the Commission from 4 February 2002. He replaces Dr David Lewis on his retirement.

Biographical notes

Professor Paul Ekins is Head of the Environment Group at the Policy Studies Institute. He is Professor of Sustainable Development at Keele University, Associate Director at Forum for the Future and Senior Consultant to Cambridge Econometrics. He is a Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, a member of the Government-Industry Forum on Non-Food Uses of Crops, and a Board member of the National Consumer Council. Professor Ekins has undertaken political activity on behalf of the Liberal Democrats during the last five years.

Mr John Flemming CBE is Warden of Wadham College, Oxford. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a current Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Mr Flemming has undertaken political activity on behalf of the Conservative Party during the last five years.

Professor Stephen Holgate is Medical Research Council Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton. He is an Honorary Consultant Physician at Southampton University Hospital and the Royal Bournemouth Hospital Trusts. He has been an Adviser to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology and sits on various Department of Health advisory committees. Professor Holgate has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Professor Brian Hoskins CBE FRS is Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, and a current Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Professor Hoskins has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Dr Susan Owens OBE is Reader in Environment and Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is also a Fellow of Newnham College, and a current Member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. Dr Owens has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

Mr John Speirs is a Director of Norsk Hydro (UK) Limited. He is Chairman of the UK faculty of the Prince of Wales's Business and Environment Programme, President of the National Society for Clean Air and Environmental Protection, and recently Chairman of its Commission on Industrial Regulation and Sustainable Development. He is also a Non-Executive Director of the Carbon Trust. Mr Speirs has not undertaken any political activity during the last five years.

Professor Janet Sprent OBE is Emeritus Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Dundee. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Fellow of the Linnaean Society and of the Royal Society of Arts. She is on the Board of Scottish Natural Heritage, and a member of the Darwin Advisory Committee (an unpaid Ministerial Appointment). Professor Sprent has not carried out any political activity in the last five years.

NOTE FOR EDITORS:

The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution is an independent standing body established by Royal Warrant, which provides advice on environmental issues to The Queen, the UK Government and Parliament, the devolved administrations, and the public.

CONTACT:

The contact for all enquiries about this news release is:

Dot Watson, RCEP, Third Floor, 5-8 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London   SW1P 3JS
Telephone:   020 7799 8985
E-mail:   dot.watson@rcep.org.uk

Back to Index of News Releases