^{Date:              17 November 2008
Embargo:       None}

MPs Grill Defra Secretary

The Efra Select Committee in the House of Commons recently grilled Permanent Secretary Dame Helen Ghosh on Defra’s Departmental Report.

The session began with discussion of the new Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), with Dame Helen asserting that both climate change adaptation and sustainable production and consumption remain at Defra which was essentially viewed as the ‘Department for Sustainability’ She also reported on ongoing negotiations with DECC on responsibility for the “Act on Co2” advertising campaign, as waste issues were due to be its main focus for 2009.

Dame Helen disclosed revealed that her Department was currently in discussion with the Environment Agency about capital projects, including waste facilities, which could be brought forward under HMG’s accelerated capital spending plans. Later in the same meeting Committee Member Anne McIntosh MP suggested that Defra should promote an information campaign on energy from waste, something which Dame Helen said she would discuss with Ministers.

ENDS