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26 Jan 2005 : Column 432W—continued
Royal Charters
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs if the Government will take steps to make a complete list of Royal Charters and their provisions available to the public. [210872]
Mr. Leslie: Since the year 1231, over 940 charters have been issued. There are about 400 still in force, but the exact number cannot be determined without historical research which is outside the capacity of the Privy Council Office.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs which Royal Charters granting rights to trade in certain areas also restrict trade within that area; and when these were awarded. [210873]
Mr. Leslie: The Privy Council Office does not hold this information.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps are taken to enforce conditions attached to Royal Charters; and who is responsible for doing so. [211037]
Mr. Leslie: The grant of a Royal Charter is not subject to conditions.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the Department has investigated whether any Royal Charter contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights; what steps are taken to ensure that Royal Charters conform to the Convention; and whether court cases have arisen in relation to the conformity of Royal Charters with the European Convention. [211038]
Mr. Leslie: It is not part of the function of the Privy Council Office to carry out such investigations.
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what Government policy is regarding the future award of Royal Charters; and if he will make a statement. [211039]
Mr. Leslie:
The Privy Council will continue to advise Her Majesty to grant Royal Charters in cases where this is in the public interest.
26 Jan 2005 : Column 433W
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Building Regulations
Mr. Love: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he received relating to the consultation on amendments to Part L of the building regulations to the effect that organisations accredited as competent under the Council for Registered Gas Installers and the Oil Firing Technical Association are (a) fully qualified and (b) under-qualified to assess whole heating systems; and if he will make a statement. [210888]
Phil Hope: During last year's consultation on amendments to Part L of the Building Regulations the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received some representations that the CORGI and OFTEC Competent Persons schemes do not cover works on whole heating systems to the extent that they could. Officials in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister are now working closely with CORGI, OFTEC and other organisations to see what changes are needed to improve the scope of the Competent Persons Schemes in relation to Part L.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the potential for (a) lowering fuel bills and (b) reducing carbon emissions by amendment of Part L of the Buildings Regulations. [210923]
Phil Hope: The most recent assessment is contained in the consultation document published last July by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. That document contains proposals to raise the standards in Part L this year in line with the commitments in the Energy White Paper. As normal the proposals aim to achieve substantial improvements consistent with Better Regulation policy, cost-effectiveness, design flexibility and the avoidance of excessive technical risks.
Council Housing
Mr. Edward Davey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the total income in capital receipts was from the sale of council housing under the right-to-buy in 2003–04, broken down by (a) debt free and (b) indebted local authorities. [209698]
Keith Hill: Total receipts from council right-to-buy sales in England for 2003–04 are estimated at £3,025 million, of which £338 million are from those local authorities who were debt-free as at 1 April 2003. The remaining receipts (£2687 million) are from indebted local authorities.
Criminal Offences
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the criminal offences created in legislation sponsored by his Department in the (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04 session broken down by Act. [206792]
Yvette Cooper: The criminal offences created in legislation by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in (a) 2002–03 are:
Section 43(4D) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (inserted by section 61 of the LG Act 2003) makes it an offence to give false information on a small business rate relief application.
The criminal offences created in legislation by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in (b) 2003–04 are:
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act (PCPA) 2004
Section 52 inserts sections 171E to 171G into the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 which relate to temporary stop notices. Under section 171G a person commits an offence if he contravenes a temporary stop notice.
Section 105 inserts a new section 5A and a new section 5B into the Acquisition of Land Act 1981. Under the new section 5B (1) a person is guilty of an offence if he fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a notice (for information) served on him under section 5A. A person also commits an offence under section 5B (2) if in response to such a notice he gives information which is materially false and knows, or ought to know, that the information is false. Under subsection (3) if a body corporate commits an offence under this section and it is found that this was done with the consent, connivance or neglect of a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity, he shall also be found guilty of such an offence.
Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 created the following offences in England and Wales, re-enacting provisions previously contained in the Fire Services Act 1947:
A water undertaker commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, it fails to take any step which it is obliged to take under subsection 40(1).
A person commits an offence if he damages or obstructs a fire hydrant, otherwise than in consequence of use for the purposes mentioned in section 42(6).
A person commits an offence if, without reasonable excuse, he fails to give notice as required by section 43(1) or 43(2).
A person commits an offence if without reasonable excuse he obstructs or interferes with an employee of a fire and rescue authority taking action authorised under this section.
A person commits an offence if he knowingly gives or causes to be given a false alarm of fire to a person acting on behalf of a fire and rescue authority.
The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 created the following offence in England, Scotland and Wales, re-enacting provisions previously contained in the Fire Services Act 1947:
A person commits an offence if he does an act or makes an omission as a result of which he is injured or becomes ill, for the purpose of obtaining, for himself or another person:
Under section 30(1) an offence is committed where an improvement notice has become operative and the person on whom the notice was served fails to comply with it.
Under section 32(1) a person commits an offence if, knowing that a prohibition order has become operative in relation to any specified premises, he:
Section 35 provides that where an improvement notice or a prohibition order has been served by the local housing authority under Part 1 of the Act requiring specific action to be taken as respects premises and a person is preventing the action from being taken, a magistrates' court may, in certain circumstances, order the person to permit to be done on the premises anything which the court considers is necessary or expedient for the purpose of enabling the required action to be taken. Under section 35(4), a person who fails to comply with such an order of the court commits an offence.
Under section 72(1) a person commits an offence if he is a person having control of or managing an HMO which is required to be licensed under Part 2 of the Act (licensing of HMOs) but is not so licensed.
(c) the other person's occupation results in the house being occupied by more households or persons than is authorised by the licence.
(a) he is a licence holder or a person on whom restrictions or obligations under a licence are imposed in accordance with section 67(5), and
Under section 95(1) a person commits an offence if he is a person having control of or managing a house which is required to be licensed under Part 3 of the Act (selective licensing of private landlords) but is not so licensed.
(a) he is a licence holder or a person on whom restrictions or obligations under a licence are imposed in accordance with section 90(6), and
Section 131 confers on local housing authorities a power to enter a house subject to a management order made under Part 4 of the Act in order to carry out works. A magistrates' court may order a person preventing the carrying out of works to permit to be done on the premises anything which the authority considers necessary. A person who fails to comply with such an order of the court commits an offence.
Under section 139(7) a person who contravenes an overcrowding notice served in respect of an HMO under section 139(2) commits an offence.
Regulations under Part 5 of the Act may require home information packs to contain home condition reports prepared by members of an approved certification scheme. The regulations may also provide for the keeping of a register of such reports. Section 165(4) prohibits a person from disclosing the register or documents or information in or derived from the register and under section 165(7) a person who contravenes this prohibition is guilty of an offence.
Under section 169(1) a person who obstructs an officer of the authority which is an enforcement authority for the purposes of Part 5 of the Act (home information packs) acting in pursuance of his power to require production of a home information pack is guilty of an offence.
Under section 169(2) a person who, not being an authorised officer of an enforcement authority, purports to act as such in requiring production of a home information pack, or in giving a penalty charge notice for a breach of duty under Part 5 of the Act, is also guilty of an offence.
Section 210(3) inserts a new subsection (1A) into section 3 of the Caravan Sites Act 1968. Under new section 3(1A) the owner of a protected site or his agent is guilty of an offence if:
(a) he acts in a way which is likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the occupier or persons residing with him, or
(b) if he persistently withdraws or withholds services or facilities reasonably required for the occupation of the caravan as a residence on the site, during the subsistence of, or after the expiration or determination of a residential contract, and (in either case) he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that that conduct is likely to cause the occupier to do any of the things mentioned in subsection (l)(c)(i) or (ii) of the section 3.
Section 234 gives the appropriate national authority the power to make regulations for the purpose of ensuring that, in respect of every house in multiple occupation of a description specified in the regulations:
Under section 234(3) a person commits an offence if he does not comply with regulations made under this section.
Under section 236(1) a person commits an offence if he fails to do anything required of him by a notice under section 235 (power to require documents to be produced).
Under section 236(4)a person commits an offence if he intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he has been required to produce by a notice under section 235.
(a) he supplies any information to a local housing authority in connection with any of their functions under any of Parts 1 to 4 or Part 7 of the Act,
(b) he knows that it is false or misleading or is reckless as to whether it is false or misleading, and
(c) he knows that the information is to be used for the purpose of supplying information to a local housing authority in connection with any of their functions under any of Parts 1 to 4 or Part 7 of the Act.
Under section 241 a person who obstructs a relevant person in the performance of anything which, by virtue of any of Parts 1 to 4 or Part 7 of the Act, that person is required or authorised to do commits an offence.
Paragraph 25 of Schedule 7 gives the local housing authority, or any person authorised by them, the right to enter any part of a dwelling which is subject to an interim or final empty dwelling management order, at any reasonable time, for the purpose of carrying out works. Where any occupier notified of the intention to exercise this right prevents an officer, employee, agent or contractor of the local housing authority from carrying out the work a magistrates' court may order him to permit to be done on the premises anything which the authority consider to be necessary. Under paragraph 25(4) of Schedule 7 a person who fails to comply with such an order commits an offence.
Paragraph 25 of Schedule 11 inserts a new paragraph 20A into Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1996. This new paragraph provides that any person who, in purported compliance with a notice given under paragraph 20A (notice to give evidence to an inquiry into the affairs of a registered social landlord) knowingly or recklessly provides any information which is false or misleading in a material particular commits an offence.
Paragraph 26(3) of Schedule 11 inserts new sub-paragraphs (4)-(6) in to paragraph 21 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1996. These new paragraphs provide that any person who, in purported compliance with a notice given under paragraph 21 (notice to give information to an inquiry) knowingly or recklessly provides any information which is false or misleading in a material particular commits an offence.
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