Sub Groups

1. There were no apologies for absence - all members were present. Anne Packer was attending as she would take the secretariat lead for the time being when Judith Harris moved to a new post later in the week.

2. The group discussed the difficulties that had arisen since the last meeting when the intensity of the effort that had of necessity to be made and the pressures of the timetable had resulted in an incomplete exchange of information, draft texts and comments between members. They agreed that this was understandable in the circumstances but unsatisfactory and that the group should return to working in an open and transparent way with full exchange of documents and information. Lessons had also been learned - and should be passed on - which were relevant to working of the full Commission.

3. The group discussed the draft report which had been circulated to all Commission members at the end of the previous week (AEBC/01/02). It agreed that, while this had the right approach and should command the attention of a wide audience, it needed to be supplemented to fulfil the 'educative and exploratory' function identified in earlier meetings. Further work was required to bring to the reader's attention the wealth of material that the group had considered, the group's analysis and the conclusions that had been drawn. The version discussed at the meeting on 26 March would provide the main quarry for this. The group also agreed that it would need independent drafting assistance to complete this task. Action: Justine Thornton and secretariat to explore provision of a 'drafter'.

4. A range of other points including detailed drafting points were also discussed. These included:

• the need to liase with ACRE and other relevant advisory bodies over the various scientific concerns that had been raised with the group such as geneflow, soil biodiversity and the affect of the herbicides used on water quality. The group agreed that this should be done and asked the secretariat to prepare a draft letter. Action: secretariat;
• the placing of references to statements made by Government and others about the FSEs. It was agreed that those from Government, the 'primary' decision maker should be discussed separately in the report;
• the need to have separate sections on 'conclusions' and 'recommendations' and to make the latter more specific and tangible .

5. The group would meet the following day from 8.00-9.30am to review the outcome of the Commission's discussion on the afternoon of 23 April and decide on next action.

AEBC Secretariat
May 2001