Waste and Emissions Trading Bill [Lords]
8:55 am
Mr Michael Meacher (Minister of State (the Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Oldham West and Royton, Labour)
On a point of order, Mr. Griffiths. May I make a brief statement? Last week, hon. Members voiced some disquiet about the availability of a regulatory impact assessment for the Bill. My Department's officials and I are concerned about that. I need hardly say that the Department has nothing to hide, and that it has been pro-active in complying with the spirit and letter of regulatory legislation.
I confirm that the first RIA has been available on the Department's website since 15 November 2002, when the Bill was introduced in another place. I confirm also that the updated RIA was put on the website on 3 April, the day of the Committee's first sitting. To reach that website, one has to type ''waste and emissions trading bill'' into the search field on the home page of the website or in the indicated field on the search page. In addition, the first edition of the RIA has been in the Libraries of both Houses since 15 November, and the updated RIA has been available in both Libraries since Friday 28 March. I hope that that meets the concerns that were expressed about the availability of the RIA in its original and updated forms.