1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Freedom of Information (Removal of References to Public Authorities) Order 2003, and shall come into force on 11th August 2003.

(2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

2.  The entries relating to the bodies and offices listed in the Schedule to this Order shall be removed from Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act.

Article 2

SCHEDULE 1

• The Advisory Board on Family Law.

• The Advisory Committee for Wales, (in relation to the Environment Agency).

• The Advisory Committee on NHS Drugs.

• The Apple and Pear Research Council.

• The Consumer Panel.

• The Development Awareness Working Group.

• The Education Transfer Council.

• The Energy Advisory Panel.

• The Further Education Funding Council for Wales.

• The Gas Consumers' Council.

• The Honorary Investment Advisory Committee.

• The Indian Family Pensions Funds Body of Commissioners.

• The Medical Practices Committee.

• The Medical Workforce Standing Advisory Committee.

• The Place Names Advisory Committee.

• The Post Office Users' Councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• The Post Office Users' National Council.

• The Sustainable Development Education Panel.

• The Wales New Deal Advisory Task Force.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

The obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 apply to public authorities. For the purposes of the Act, a “public authority” means a body or office which is listed in Schedule 1 to the Act or designated by order under section 5, or a publicly-owned company as defined by section 6. The list in Schedule 1 to the Act may be added to by order under section 4(1), provided that the conditions prescribed by section 4(2) and (3) are satisfied.

Where a body or office either ceases to exist, or ceases to satisfy either of the conditions in section 4(2) or (3), an order may be made under section 4(5) removing an entry relating to it from Schedule 1 to the Act.

This Order removes references to the bodies in the Schedule from Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act. There are no regulatory implications for businesses arising from this Order, therefore a Regulatory Impact Assessment has not been prepared.