The Standing Conference was established by the CIEH in 2003 to provide a forum for local authority regulators throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland to discuss the problems of the management and regulation of land contamination including through both the Part 2A regime and the planning process. It comprises representatives of all the known generalist and specialist groups with an interest in land contamination, both those affiliated to the CIEH and those not. It meets in plenary session at least once a year, the CIEH being guided on the direction of the conference in the meantime by an Advisory Committee of 15 members, all volunteers drawn from the wider Conference, some of whom rotate attendance to ensure a wide, representative yet manageable membership plus two observers from the government sector and the conference coordinator.
The conference is supported in its purpose by the Environment Agency and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A framework for the Standing Conference is provided by its terms of reference. These describe the extent of the Conference, its purposes and its structure/governance.
Current working groups
The conference currently supports four ad hoc working groups, each led by a member of the Advisory Committee, each looking a particular aspect of its work. They are
- Training - chair, Nick Howard
- Research & Development - chair, Phil Hartley
- Risk Assessment - chair, Steve Moreby
- Planning - chair, Ciara Longman
Conference Chairman - Alan Higgins, Chairman of Council, CIEH
Co-ordinator - Howard Price, Principal Policy Officer, CIEH Policy Unit