Matthew has been appointed to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee.
The Environmental Audit Committee considers the extent to which the policies and programmes of government departments and non-departmental public bodies contribute to environmental protection and sustainable development, and it audits their performance against any sustainable development and environmental protection targets. Unlike most select committees, the Committee’s remit cuts across government rather than focuses on the work of a particular department.
Matthew said: “As anyone who knows me will be aware, I have always had an interest in environmental matters. I am therefore delighted to have been appointed to this particular Committee. In the last three months the Committee has published reports on inquiries into a wide range of topical environmental issues including Sustainable Development Indicators, in which they urged the Government to be open on the extent of environmental inequalities; wildlife crime, in which they challenged the Government to fix the law in this area; and Protecting the Arctic in which they called for a halt on oil drilling until a more robust infrastructure is in place to deal with an oil-spill. I believe the work of this Committee will be of interest to many of my constituents in Hendon and I look forward to being able to raise issues that they bring to my attention.”