Members appointed to Regional Flood Defence Committees

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made a number of appointments and re-appointments to Regional Flood Defence Committees. The appointments took effect from 1 July 2006 for three years.

Regional Flood Defence Committees are responsible for decisions made on flood defence works carried out in their regions by the Environment Agency.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for appointing the Chair of the committees and a number of members; two other members are nominated by the Environment Agency and the local authorities in the area appoint the remainder of the members.

The appointments are:

Northumbria RFDC: Ronald Watson, William Salvin, and Christopher Watson.

North West RFDC: Malcolm Bullough, Philip Percival, Peter Walsh, and David Harpley (conservation representative).

Severn Trent RFDC: Andrew Eadon, Jacqueline Taylor, and Lesley Anne Wheeler.

Southern RFDC: Peter Doran, Ruth Kosmin, and Stephen Gilbert (conservation representative).

South West RFDC: Clare Broom, Anthony Brown, and John Edwards.

Thames RFDC: Stephen Joseph, Nigel Jones, Frank Law, Mark Nicholls, and Amanda Nobbs (conservation representative)

Wessex RFDC: Raymond Adlam, Alan Lovell, Richard Archer (conservation representative).

Yorkshire RFDC: Zafran Liaqat, and Timothy Cole.

Notes to editors

1. The appointments were advertised in the local press and on the Environment Agency, Defra and other stakeholder websites in February 2006. There were 57 applications for the posts from which the candidates were selected. The appointments followed the procedures set out in the Office for the Commissioner for Public Appointments (OCPA) Code of Practice.

2. The Environment Agency is required by the Environment Act 1995 to exercise its flood defence and land drainage functions through RFDCs (apart from certain financial duties). These functions include the construction and maintenance of river and sea defences against flooding and provision of flood warning systems and the regulation and improvement of watercourses to alleviate flooding of land and property.

3. RFDCs are required to take an interest in all flood matters in their area and in particular to take decisions about the annual programme of improvement and maintenance work to be carried out by the Agency. They must also decide on such matters as the extension of main rivers, the making and operation of land drainage byelaws and various issues affecting any internal drainage boards in their area. They are required annually to approve estimates of expenditure and to determine the amounts to be levied by the Agency on constituent councils.

4. The appointments are unpaid but expenses are refunded.

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