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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 24 June 1992
HOME DEPARTMENT
Interception of Communications
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the safeguards against abuse of the Interception of Communications Act 1985.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : None. I have every confidence in the existing arrangements for oversight by the Interception of Communications Commissioner and tribunal of the operation of the Act. I refer the hon. Member to the reference in paragraph 7 of the commissioner's report for 1991, Cm 1942, to the determination of the agencies involved in the interception of communications to obey the spirit as well as the letter of the law.
Prisoners (Labour)
Mr. Quentin Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are, in relation to the last full year for which figures are available, (a) the total value of the economic contributions made by prisoners' own labour to the funding of the prison service, (b) the value of the sales of goods produced by prison labour to third (outside) parties and (c) the proportion which the answers to (a) and (b) respectively represent of the total annual cost (including depreciation, interest and other capital costs) of the prison service or so much of this information as is available in any form ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The last full year for which figures are available is 1990-91. The information is as follows :
(a) £47.6 million ; (b) £5.7 million ; (c) 0.03 per cent. (a) ; 0.004 per cent. (b).
The figures at (a) and (b) represent the sales value of goods and services applied by prison industrial workshops, laundries, farms and gardens, excluding VAT. They do not include the economic contribution made by inmates working in prison kitchens or engaged in other domestic work, on which information is not available. The total cost of the Prison Service in 1990-91 was £1,464.2 million. This figure includes capital expenditure, but excludes depreciation and interest on capital employed.
Dog-fouling
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from local authorities regarding the need to strengthen the ability of local authorities to enforce byelaws about dog-fouling ; what consideration he is giving to the introduction of legislation to make the fouling by dogs of footways and other areas to which the public have access, an offence ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : We have received two recent representations from local authorities about the powers
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available to them to enforce byelaws for the regulation of dogs. I have been informed that the Government Departments concerned are considering whether further legislation on the subject of dog fouling would be appropriate.Personal Correspondence
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what powers an immigration officer may copy personal correspondence in the possession of persons applying for temporary visitors' visas on arrival in the United Kingdom ; and for how long such copies may be retained by his Department.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Under the Immigration Act 1971 an immigration officer may examine and detain for up to seven days a document produced to him or found on a search.
It is standard practice to photocopy such documents and the copies may be retained as long as considered necessary, but are normally destroyed after three years.
Police Accommodation
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many empty police houses there are for each police authority area ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Details of empty police houses as at 31 March 1991, which are the most recent figures available, are set out in the table. Of the total of 1,614, the number due to be reallocated to serving police officers was 710 and the number identified for sale as surplus to requirements was 517.
|c|Empty police houses as at 31 March 1991|c|
Police Authority |Empty
|houses
------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |38
Bedfordshire |3
Cambridgeshire |17
Cheshire |27
City of London |0
Cleveland |2
Cumbria |65
Derbyshire |80
Devon and Cornwall |20
Dorset |25
Durham |22
Dyfed-Powys |34
Essex |47
Gloucestershire |35
Greater Manchester |70
Gwent |29
Hampshire |40
Hertfordshire |17
Humberside |21
Kent |40
Lancashire |61
Leicestershire |8
Lincolnshire |34
Merseyside |7
Norfolk |11
Northamptonshire |13
Northumbria |32
North Wales |70
North Yorkshire |42
Nottinghamshire |14
South Wales |50
South Yorkshire |8
Staffordshire |32
Suffolk |25
Surrey |6
Sussex |12
Thames Valley |56
Warwickshire |11
West Mercia |56
West Midlands |15
West Yorkshire |9
Wiltshire |25
Metropolitan Police |<1>385
Total |1,614
<1>Includes flats.
Mr. Austin Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of empty residential property in the London borough of Greenwich in the ownership of the Metropolitan police and the type of accommodation available ; how long each property has been vacant ; and what is the intended future use.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The information is as follows :
Property |Type |Number |Period |Future use
|of units |vacant
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swanne House |Maisonnette |3 |9 |Awaiting allocation
Swanne House |Maisonnette |1 |4 |Awaiting allocation
Swanne House |Maisonnette |1 |3 |Awaiting allocation
Lynher Lodge |Flat |1 |11 |Under review
Lynher Lodge |Flat |1 |3 |Awaiting allocation
Rennetts Wood |Flat |2 |6 |Under review
House
Rennetts Wood |Flat |1 |18 |Under review
House
Rennetts Wood |Flat |1 |1 |Awaiting allocation
House
6c Vanburgh Park |Flat |1 |14 |Under review
Road
6d Vanburgh Park |Flat |1 |6 |Under review
Road
Eltham Hill/ Flat 9 Withdrawn from allocation
Kingsground prior to disposal
Shooters Hill Road Flat 3 Awaiting conversion for
operational use
Asylum
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has held on the provisions of the Asylum Bill to be introduced this Session ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Ministers and officials are frequently in contact with various refugee and voluntary organisations active in the asylum field and are generally familiar with their views. I have had a number of meetings with interested organisations and we are ready to consider any particular points they may wish to raise.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received in respect of reforms to the procedure governing asylum application in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Between July 1991 and April 1992 approximately 2,400 representations were received from hon. Members, interested organisations and members of the public, many being members of organisations such as Amnesty International who sent pro forma letters. Since
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April we have received approximately 230 representations from members of the public, many forwarded by hon. Members and mostly pro forma letters from Amnesty International members.Refugees
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what payments have been made to the new refugee unit, which was formerly part of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Since becoming independent of UKIAS on 6 May, the new refugee unit has received £100,000 in May and £206,250 in June. The sum of £200,000 was given to UKIAS last year to finance the separation costs and the unit was given an additional £33,420 in March when still part of UKIAS.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with other EC Ministers with regard to refugees from the former state of Yugoslavia ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Discussions on the situation of persons displaced by the various conflicts in the region of former Yugoslavia, took place at a meeting of EC Immigration Ministers in Lisbon on 11 and 12 June. Ministers were able to exchange information on how each member state is coping with these problems.
Mr. Darling : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had on the setting up of the new refugee unit ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : My hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr. Lloyd) announced on 12 March, at column 592 , that at the joint invitation of my right hon. Friend the Member for Mole Valley (Mr. Baker) and the London representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees a planning group was being established to devise a constitution for a new organisation to provide asylum seekers with legal counselling and representation in appeals. My right hon. and learned Friend and I look forward to receiving the group's proposals. In the meantime, the group has assumed responsibility for the general oversight of the refugee unit which was previously part of the United Kingdom Immigrants Advisory Service and is now called the new refugee unit. I met Mrs. Usha Prashar, who chairs the group, on 26 May.
ENVIRONMENT
Uniform Business Rate
Mr. Sproat : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the length of time being taken over uniform business rate appeals ; how many such appeals are pending ; what percentage have been pending for over three months, six months and one year, respectively in (a) England and (b) the Harwich constituency ; and what specific steps he is taking to speed up appeals throughout (i) England and (ii) the Harwich constituency.
Mr. Robin Squire : Non-domestic rating appeals in England are dealt with by valuation tribunals, and those in Harwich by the Essex North valuation tribunal.
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Information is not available centrally in the form requested. The available information is as follows :Column 195
All tribunals in EngEssex North valuation
tribunal including Harwich
|Number |per cent.|Number |per cent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appeals received
By the end of March 1991 |597,000 |77 |5,800 |75
During April to September 1991 |90,000 |11 |1,000 |13
During October 1991 to March 199292,000 |12 |900 |12
Total |779,000 |100 |7,700 |100
Total appeals cleared |220,000 |1,500
Appeals outstanding at end of March 1992 |558,000 |6,200
Most of the original list appeals in 1990-91 were received towards the end of the financial year.
Valuation tribunals are independent bodies and the priority and timing of cases is primarily a matter for them. The Department has, however, urged all tribunals to deal with appeals as quickly as possible.
The Department is responsible for the funding of the English tribunals, and they were provided with additional staff and computer systems for dealing with the 1990 rating appeals. The staffing levels are kept under review.
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Urban Development
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a table of expenditure on each urban development corporation and each urban development area for each year from 1987-88 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1987-88 prices.
Mr. Robin Squire : The tables show annual grant in aid to the urban development corporations for each year from 1987-88 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1987-88 prices.
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|c|Grant in aid paid to UDCs 1987-92 - £ million|c|
|c|Actual outturn (Current Prices)|c|
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Country |2.443 |23.000 |38.000 |32.000 |46.200
Bristol |0.283 |5.000 |13.425 |19.125
Central Manchester |2.500 |11.000 |14.000 |16.000
Leeds |2.743 |8.750 |14.000 |13.600
London Docklands |82.800 |116.415|225.750|332.975|248.710
Merseyside |20.942 |20.535 |23.000 |24.000 |25.438
Sheffield |7.958 |9.500 |18.967 |13.300
Teesside |5.000 |20.697 |36.009 |42.135 |56.230
Trafford Park |10.450 |15.500 |13.300 |24.200 |28.100
Tyne and Wear |4.000 |24.016 |35.800 |37.750 |40.500
|c|Grant in aid paid to UDCs 1987-92 - £ million 1987-1988
prices|c|
|1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Country |2.443 |24.662 |43.428 |39.556 |61.123
Bristol |0.303 |5.714 |16.599 |25.302
Central Manchester |2.681 |12.571 |17.310 |21.168
Leeds |2.941 |9.999 |17.310 |17.992
London Docklands |82.800 |124.827|257.998|411.707|329.043
Merseyside |20.942 |22.019 |26.286 |29.674 |33.651
Sheffield |8.533 |10.857 |23.452 |17.596
Teesside |5.000 |22.193 |41.153 |52.098 |74.392
Trafford Park |10.450 |16.620 |15.199 |29.922 |37.176
Tyne and Wear |4.000 |25.751 |40.914 |46.676 |53.582
Brundtland Commission
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what contribution his Department made to the proceedings of the reconvened Brundtland commission on environment and development in London on 22 to 24 April.
Mr. Maclean : My Department contributed £30,000 towards the costs of the London meeting of the World Commission on Environment and Development in April. The Secretary of State for the Environment also hosted a dinner and reception for the commissioners.
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Regional Offices
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will provide a table of expenditure showing the running costs of each regional office of his Department and the cost of running sub-regional offices aggregated by region and with Greater London shown separately and excluding the funding programmes operated by the offices for each year from 1987-88 (a) at current prices and (b) at 1987-88 prices.
Mr. Howard : The costs of running each of my Department's regional offices are set out in the tables. None of these offices has a sub-regional office. Both tables exclude the separate local office networks of Property Holdings and PSAS and, before 1990-91, that of the PSA :
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£ million
Region |1987-88|1988-89|1989-90|1990-91|1991-92
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Costs of running each DOE regional office at current prices
London |3.7 |3.6 |4.1 |3.9 |4.2
South East |2.7 |2.4 |3.0 |2.9 |3.3
Eastern |1.9 |1.9 |2.4 |2.2 |2.6
South West |1.9 |1.7 |2.1 |2.1 |2.5
East Midlands |2.5 |2.4 |3.1 |2.9 |3.3
West Midlands |3.1 |2.8 |3.5 |3.4 |4.0
North West |4.4 |4.2 |5.3 |5.5 |6.4
Yorkshire and Humberside |2.8 |3.0 |3.6 |3.6 |4.4
Northern |2.7 |2.6 |3.3 |3.2 |3.7
Merseyside Task Force |1.5 |1.5 |1.7 |1.7 |2.1
(B) Costs of running each DOE regional office at 1987-88 prices
London |3.7 |3.4 |3.6 |3.1 |3.2
South East |2.7 |2.3 |2.6 |2.4 |2.5
Eastern |1.9 |1.7 |2.1 |1.8 |2.0
South West |1.9 |1.6 |1.9 |1.7 |1.9
East Midlands |2.5 |2.3 |2.7 |2.4 |2.5
West Midlands |3.1 |2.6 |3.0 |2.7 |3.0
North West |4.4 |3.9 |4.6 |4.4 |4.9
Yorkshire and Humberside |2.8 |2.8 |3.2 |2.9 |3.4
Northern |2.7 |2.5 |2.9 |2.6 |2.8
Merseyside Task Force |1.5 |1.4 |1.5 |1.4 |1.6
County Hall, London
Mr. Devlin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors will be considered in deciding the future use of county hall ; and when the matter falls to be determined.
Mr. Robin Squire : The Government will be making a statement on this subject shortly. It will take account of the agreement which the London residuary body have already entered into for the sale of the Riverside building, with an option to withdraw by 31 December of this year, and the financial and wider considerations relating to any alternative proposal for the occupation of the whole county hall site.
Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the resources available to English Nature to notify and protect those sites which are of special interest but which await notification or renotification as sites of special scientific interest.
Mr. Maclean : Resources for all English Nature's programmes are considered in assessing its corporate plan prior to the annual grant in aid allocation in the autumn. A 13 per cent. increase in grant in aid for 1992- 93 was announced last year. The plan for 1993-96 is currently before me.
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions he has had with the chairman of English Nature on the fulfilment of English Nature's statutory duties to notify as sites of special scientific interest those areas of land which in its opinion are of special interest.
Mr. Maclean : Ministers from this Department meet the chairman of English Nature on a regular basis to discuss a wide range of issues. I shall be meeting Lord Cranbrook on 8 July to discuss English Nature's corporate plan, which includes the provision to be made for the notification programme.
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Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many management agreements exist between owners and occupiers of sites of special scientific interest and English Nature ; how many agreements have been reached in each of the last five years ; and how many are estimated to be made in the current financial year and the next financial year.
Mr. Maclean : The information requested is as follows :
Financial |New |Renewals
year |cases
------------------------------------------------------
Numbers reached in the last five years
1987-88 |273
1988-89 |313
1989-90 |221
1990-91 |323
1991-92 |271
Estimated to be reached
1992-93 |220 |330
1993-94 |200 |350
Note: The number of management agreements reached
under section 15 of the Countryside Act 1968 at 31
March 1992 was 1,584.
Mr. Pendry : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many sites are awaiting notification or renotification as sites of special scientific interest ; how many are likely to be notified by the end of March 1993 ; and when the sites of special scientific interest notification programme inherited from the Nature Conservancy Council will be complete.
Mr. Maclean : I am advised by English Nature that at 31 March 1992, the renotification of sites in England was97.7 per cent. complete ; 54 sites originally notified under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 remain to be considered for notification under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. By the end of March 1993 the number of renotified and notified sites is expected to be 3,765. Thereafter, English Nature will notify sites as and when the appropriate scientific interest is identified.
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Water Metering
Mr. George Howarth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what guidelines the Office of Water Supply has issued to water companies on fitting water meters to newly constructed properties.
Mr. Maclean : The Director General of Water Services has set out charging guidelines for water companies to follow which include the installation of meters where the overall benefit outweighs the cost of installation. Meters can be installed cheaply in new properties and most companies already insist that they are metered. The guidelines encourage all companies to adopt such a policy.
Housing Finance
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if the Government will reconsider their decision to commute present revenue grants for house improvement and slum clearance in favour of a single capital sum payable to local authorities in September.
Benzene
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the level of benzene in petrol in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the United States ; and what discussions he will be having with petrol manufacturers to reduce the levels of benzene in petrol.
Mr. Maclean : The maximum permissible benzene content of petrol in the United Kingdom is set by European Community directive 85/210/EEC at 5 per cent. by volume. Typical levels in the United Kingdom are between 3 and 4 per cent. and 1 and 2 per cent. in the United States of America. Government action to reduce people's exposure to evaporate emissions of volatile organic compounds, which include benzene, is directed at reducing emissions to the atmosphere. Major reductions will be achieved by new European Community standards on vehicle exhaust emissions which will come into effect from the end of this year ; a second stage of even tighter standards is proposed thereafter. Proposals are expected shortly from the European Commission for directives on the control of fuel evaporation in the distribution network and during refuelling operations. The permitted summer time volatility of petrol in the United Kingdom will also be reduced from 1993. The Government are in discussion with both oil and motor industries on these matters.
Coastal Zone Unit
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what steps are being taken to establish a national coastal zone unit within his Department.
Mr. Maclean : We have noted the recent recommendation of the report of the House of Commons Select Committee on the Environment on coastal zone protection and planning that a national coastal zone unit be set up within the Government to provide an overview of coastal policy. We will be responding to this recommendation, and to the others made by the Committee, in due course.
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Flora and Fauna
Mr. Steen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to implement the EC directive on the conservation of flora and fauna and habitats in the United Kingdom ; and what additional resources he estimates will be required for this purpose.
Mr. Maclean : The United Kingdom's current nature protection provisions give this country a firm basis for implementation of the directive. We are considering what further provisions are necessary to enable the directive to come fully into force within the two years prescribed.
At the same time the Government's scientific advisers are working on the criteria for site selection as the first step towards compiling the United Kingdom's national list of candidate sites to be considered as sites of Community importance.
The resource requirements for implementation over the next few years will be discussed with the country agencies and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee in the context of the normal corporate planning and grant in aid allocation processes.
Homelessness
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an estimate of the number of homeless children in London currently and in 1982 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The information is not held centrally and my Department does not make estimates.
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his current estimate of the number of homeless (a) in London, (b) in Wales and (c) in the United Kingdom ; what were the comparable figures in 1982 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Baldry : The available information represents the numbers of households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility for securing permanent accommodation, under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985. The information for England and London is as follows :
|England|London
--------------------------------
1992<1> |38,460 |10,850
1991 |145,140|39,590
1982 |71,620 |20,630
<1>First quarter.
A new reporting system was introduced for authorities other than non- metropolitan districts from the third quarter of 1982 so the figures for the year are not strictly comparable with those for subsequent years.
For information about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland I refer the hon. and learned Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland respectively.
Darwin Initiative
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what measures the Darwin initiative is expected to take which the United Kingdom has not already been taking through its research and aid programmes ; and what is likely to be its cost.
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Mr. Maclean : The Darwin initiative will assist in carrying out international studies of available natural resources, the building up of inventories of the most important species and the promoting of exchange of information and techniques for conservation.The aim of the Darwin initiative is to build on the work already being done in the United Kingdom and to develop a new integrated strategy for promoting the protection of biodiversity. We are still considering the resource implications.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what relationship he proposes between the Darwin initiative and the work of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research.
Mr. Maclean : We are still considering how to involve existing scientific and environmental groups in the Darwin initiative. However, the work of the consultative group for international agricultural research, which includes the development of higher yield crop varieties and the study of sustainable agricultural practices, shares the same long-term goal of the sustainable use of the world's resources promoted by the Darwin initiative.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment in what ways he proposes that the Darwin initiative will help the developing countries to obtain compensation for the commercial exploitation of their genetic resources.
Mr. Maclean : The Darwin initiative aims to support the implementation of the biodiversity convention. That convention facilitates the setting up of benefit sharing arrangements between countries providing potentially valuable biological resources and those who develop them.
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what will be the role of non-governmental organisations in the action team to be established to develop the framework for the Darwin initiative.
Mr. Maclean : Interested organisations in the private and public sector, including non-governmental organisations will be invited to help develop the Darwin initiative.
Biodiversity Convention
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment If he will make a statement on the implications of the EC's signature of the biodiversity convention for the draft directive on patenting of life forms still under discussion in the Community.
Mr. Maclean : The European Parliament is presently considering the draft directive on patenting of life forms, in the context of the recently signed biodiversity convention. It is not anticipated that the biodiversity convention will have any significant implications for the draft directive.
Building Maintenance, Salford
Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he has decided to take against Salford city council following the issue of a notice under section 19A of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, part III, for its failure to make the statutory rate of return in respect of building maintenance work in 1989-90.
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Mr. Robin Squire : My right hon. and learned Friend has given careful consideration to the response which Salford city council has made to the notice served on 1 July 1991, and has today given a direction under section 19B of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1990 in respect of building maintenance work. The direction places restrictions on the extent of building work undertaken by the authority without the express agreement of the Secretary of State.
Planning Laws (Crown Exemption)
Mr. Whittingdale : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he intends to review the exemption of Crown bodies from town and country planning legislation ; and if he will make a statement.
Sir George Young : Yes. A public consultation paper will be issued in a few weeks' time, embodying detailed proposals by my right hon. and learned Friend and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales. With the agreement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, the proposals will also apply to Crown exemption under Scottish planning legislation.
The usual constitutional position is that the Crown is exempt from all statutory provisions, unless they state to the contrary. For this purpose, the Crown includes the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Crown Estate, Government Departments and Parliament itself. Crown bodies are not entirely exempt from planning legislation ; they may, for example, apply for planning permission in anticipation of disposal of their land under section 299 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
But most Crown development, with the exception of trunk roads which are subject to the provisions of the Highways Act 1980, in Scotland the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, is undertaken under non-statutory arrangements set out in part IV of DOE circular 18/84, Welsh Office 37/84. All Crown bodies have agreed to these arrangements, whereby a Crown body that wishes to develop land, obtain listed building consent or acquire hazardous substances consent, serves a notice of proposed development on the local planning authority. Where they and the authority fail to reach agreement, the development proposal is referred to the Secretary of State for decision, if necessary following a non-statutory public local inquiry.
The citizens charter White Paper noted the progressive removal of immunities that shelter Government Departments and Crown bodies from regulations, inspection and enforcement requirements placed on others. My right hon. and learned Friend believes that it is now appropriate to bring Crown exemption under the planning system largely to an end. He proposes that all Crown bodies should be required to apply to the local planning authority for planning permission, listed building consent and hazardous substances consent in the normal way. There will be limited exceptions to this, principally where national or prison security is involved, or for trunk roads proposals, which are already subject to statutory procedures equivalent to town and country planning procedures. One consequence of this proposal will be that Crown developers will be legally required to undertake environmental impact assessments of their proposals, as required by EC directive 85/337, in the same way as other developers, replacing the non-statutory arrangements in DOE circular 15/88--Welsh Office 23/88.
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My right hon. and learned Friend also proposes that any Crown development allegedly in breach of planning control should be subject to the enforcement provisions of part VII of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ; and the statutory regimes in part VIII of that Act for outdoor advertisement control and tree protection should apply to Crown land, with any necessary modifications.My right hon. and learned Friend intends to embody these proposals in legislation when a suitable opportunity arises.
Earth Summit
Mr. Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list (a) the 12 representatives of non-governmental organisations and (b) representatives of other organisations who attended the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development as advisers to the official United Kingdom delegation.
Mr. Howard [holding answer 22 June 1992] : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment and Countryside to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 15 June, Official Report, columns 400-1.
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