RWMAC's Annual Report for 2000-2001

Chapter 2

RWMAC Operational and Administrative Issues

RWMAC membership

2.1 RWMAC's terms of reference and membership during the period covered by this Annual Report are given in Annex 1. For the purpose of delivering its 2000-2001 work programme, the Committee operated on the basis of a series of specific topic Working Groups, whose composition is set out in Annex 2.

RWMAC meetings

2.2 The Committee met in plenary session five times between 1 October 2000 and 30 September 2001. Three meetings were held in London (9 February, 16 June, and 14 September 2001). One meeting, on 17 November 2000, was held in Lancaster coinciding with a visit by the Committee to the LLW disposal facility at Drigg in Cumbria. The other meeting was held in Cardiff on 5 and 6 April 2001. This included a discussion with Sue Essex, Minister for the Environment, and National Assembly for Wales officials.

2.3 The Committee also undertook a series of Member-only workshops over the days of 19 and 20 March 2001, in Manchester. This was an opportunity for the Committee to take time out to form a view on a wide range of issues relating to the management of radioactive wastes and to identify possible areas for inclusion in the future work programme. The outcome of these sessions contributed, in part, to the preparation of RWMAC's Advice to Ministers on the Formulation of Future Policy for the Long Term Management of UK Solid Radioactive Waste ¹, which is discussed in chapter 3.

2.4 In addition to the plenary meetings and workshops, which involved all Committee Members, some 20 Working Group meetings and site visits also took place during the period covered by this report.

The cost of running RWMAC

2.5 The cost of the Committee in the financial year 2000-2001 was £165,200. This figure excludes the salary and associated costs of the RWMAC Secretariat (which is supplied, and paid for, by Defra). A cost breakdown is given in Annex 3.

Guidelines for Members of RWMAC

2.6 The Code of Practice for Members of RWMAC was revised in 1999 and published in the Committee's 20^th Annual Report ². Copies are available from the RWMAC Secretariat office.

2.7 Members have also been given guidance on declaring and registering financial and other interests. The current register of RWMAC Members' interests is at Annex 4.

2.8 During the period covered by this report, comments were offered on two drafts of a proposed Code of Practice for Scientific Advisory Committees drawn up by the Office for Science and Technology (OST). The Code is intended to apply to all scientific advisory committees and to cover the whole range of activities of the Chairman, Membership and Secretariats of these bodies. The intention is that the Code will contribute to greater transparency in the way that committees carry out their advisory remit and enhance the quality of the advice provided.

2.9 As the final version of the Code has not yet been published, it would be inappropriate to go into the detail of the comments made, but some of RWMAC's general observations may be indicated. A key point is that while there is a need to promote good practice throughout the scientific advisory system, this should take account of the problems that might arise from provisions which are too detailed or prescriptive and could, therefore, impede the effective operation of the committees themselves. Linked to this is the question of the manpower and financial burdens that could be imposed on organisations that are not, in general, particularly well resourced.

2.10 Provisions in the draft Code relate to the disclosure of working documents, source materials, and minutes of all meetings. RWMAC has already commented publicly on the difficulties this might entail for the ability of individual advisory committee members, appointed to RWMAC on a part-time "ad-hominem" basis, but also employed full time by commercial organisations, to enjoy open expression in giving their views. In this regard, OST was referred to RWMAC's response to the Select Committee on Public Administration's Inquiry into the Government White Paper Your Right to Know, published in its 18^th Annual Report ³. The same response suggested that "disclosure of interim documents would not necessarily reflect the Committee's ultimate consensus position" and that it could also "potentially, undermine the perceived credibility of .. .. advice when it is eventually given."

2.11 Another concern was that the Code should not confuse the roles of advisory committees and government in relation to public consultation and decision making, or imply that advisory bodies should engage in consultation themselves. Use of public consultation is an essential tool of policy making, but, in RWMAC's view, engagement of public opinion is a matter primarily for government, not its advisors.

References

1. The Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee's Advice to Ministers on the Process for Formulation of Future Policy for the Long Term Management of UK Solid Radioactive Waste, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, September 2001.

2. Twentieth Annual Report of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, November 2000.

3. Eighteenth Annual Report of the Radioactive Waste Management Advisory Committee, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, July 1998.