28 October 2005

Don Touhig MP, Under Secretary of State for Defence, has announced an extension to the consultation process regarding possible changes to the Met Office forecast production structure.

The original period of consultation inviting comment on the potential restructuring of the Met Office's network of regional weather centres was announced in July and was due to complete on 20 October. In response to comments received during that process, an additional proposal is being developed by the Met Office. The Minister has agreed an extension of the consultation to 15 November 2005 to allow a period of evaluation on the proposals being worked on which could form an additional option.

It is emphasised that no final decision will be made by Mr Touhig until a full evaluation of all the proposed options has been concluded.

Consultation document on the new option (PDF, 153 kb)

Notes:
The Met office is a Trading Fund within the MoD. It has a turnover of around £170m and employs around 1,760 staff.

Mr Touhig acts as the Ministerial owner of the Met Office on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence.

The Met Office Board comprises the Chief Executive and two Executive Directors from the Met Office and four Non-Executive Directors, including the Chairman, Mr Clay Brendish. The role of the Board is to support the Ministerial owner in setting objectives for, and monitoring the performance of, the Met Office and to advise on major investment and expenditure decisions.