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Draft Commonhold Bill

Lord Williams of Elvel asked Her Majesty's Government:

What discussions, if any, they have held with representatives of other countries operating strata title and similar forms of tenure in the course of preparation of the draft Commonhold Bill.

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The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern): No discussions were held. However, published material about similar forms of title in other countries was taken into account.

Lord Williams of Elvel asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many responses they have received to the consultation process on the draft Commonhold Bill and (a) how many of that number were critical of the draft Bill and (b) what were the main criticisms put forward.

The Lord Chancellor: There were 60 consultation responses. Most supported the principle of commonhold and raised helpful practical points. The main concerns expressed were about:

(a) the restriction of length of lease on a commonhold unit to a maximum of 25 years;

(b) the commonhold association's power to sell a unit to recover unpaid service charges without the requirement of a court order;

(c) whether the Bill should compel freeholders to consent to conversion to a commonhold;

(d) the lack of an alternative dispute resolution process;

(e) too great a reliance on secondary legislation for the details of the system.

Public Record Office

Lord Denning asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the Answer of the Earl Howe on 31st October (col. WA 27), whether the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane was built, executed and used by the authority of a public statute--namely the Public Records Act of 1838--and was for the purpose of keeping safe the public records including the records of the Chancery of England in the custody of the Master of the Rolls and whether those documents should have been retained in that building and not removed from it except by a new Act of Parliament.

The Lord Chancellor: The Public Record Office Act 1838 (1 & 2 Vic c 94) placed the records of the Chancery of England in the custody of the Master of the Rolls, and empowered him also to take into his custody other records belonging to Her Majesty. These records were at the time located in many different buildings, and the Act permitted the Master of the Rolls to move them from one place to another. The Act additionally said that a Public Record Office should be created as soon as possible and directed the Treasury to provide (Section 7):

"such suitable and proper or additional Building or Buildings as may be required for the Reception and safe Custody of all the Public Records".

The Rolls Estate Act 1837 (1 Vic c 46) vested the Rolls Estate in Chancery Lane (which had previously been granted to successive Masters of the Rolls) in Her Majesty. It also authorised the Commissioners of

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HM Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings to appropriate (Section 4):

"any Part or Parts which they may think proper of the ... Rolls Estate to or for the Purposes of any of the Courts ... or for a Depository of the records of the Court of Chancery ... or other Public Records, or for any other public Purpose connected with the Administration of Justice or the Custody or Preservation of Records or Documents".

In neither of these Acts was there any requirement that the records of the Chancery of England be preserved in the Chancery Lane building, which did not exist until some years later. Instead, they were both permissive: the Rolls Estate Act provided a site in case it should be required and the Public Record Office Act gave the Master of the Rolls and the Treasury authority to select a suitable site and build a record office. In the event they did choose the Chancery Lane site and that part of the Rolls Estate now occupied by the Public Record Office was appropriated, work commencing on the construction of the new building in 1851.

The Public Record Office Act was repealed in its entirety by the Public Records Act 1958 (1958 c 51), which similarly contains no requirements about the location of the Office or the records. The Rolls Estate Act was repealed by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1975 (1975 c 10), with the exception of Section 4, which contains the provisions for appropriation quoted above.

Since there is no statutory requirement about the location of the office or the records, there is no need for a new Act of Parliament for the removal of the records from the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane.

EC Volatile Organic Compound Directive

Lord Pearson of Rannoch asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they believe that the view of the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Trade and Industry (Lord Strathclyde) expressed in a letter of 3rd May 1993 to the European Communities Committee that the effects of a volatile organic compound directive "will give the United Kingdom the maximum flexibility in implementation, and allow the Government to ensure that small rural petrol stations will not have to bear unreasonable cost" has been justified, and, if so, why.

The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers): The EC "Stage 1" Directive on the control of volatile organic compound emissions during the storage and distribution of petrol, referred to in the question, was transposed into British legislation by statutory instrument last month. I fully share the view, which was expressed by my noble friend Lord Strathclyde in 1993, that the derogations which the United Kingdom successfully sought to be included in the directive have given us flexibility in its implementation and will ensure that small rural petrol stations will not have to bear unreasonable costs.

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Service stations with an annual throughput smaller than 100 cubic metres are exempt altogether. Those with an annual throughput between 100-500 cubic metres, and which are located in a geographical area or on a site where vapour emissions are unlikely to contribute significantly to environmental or health problems, may also be exempted.

We intend to make full use of this derogation for existing service stations, although at the request of the petroleum industry we have delayed defining the exempt areas until nearer 2004 when the regulations will come into force for stations of that size. This is to ensure that they are identified on the basis of the best scientific information which is then available. The regulations already specify exempt areas for new stations of that size. These are located in rural parts of northern Scotland.

Gypsy Caravan Sites

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:

What was the expenditure on the grant aid to local authorities for gypsy caravan sites in each of the years 1992-93 to 1995-96, and how this compared with the forecast in the public expenditure review for each of those years.

Earl Ferrers: The grant aid paid to local authorities in the United Kingdom for gypsy caravan sites, compared with original and final provision for each of the years 1992-93 to 1995-96, was:

£ million

	Original provision	Final provision	Expenditure
1992-93	15.6	16.0	17.1
1993-94	15.9	15.9	15.0
1994-95	16.2	21.4	19.5
1995-96	16.1	16.3	16.9

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish a list of the gypsy caravan sites for which Stage II approval has been given but which were not yet built, given for each site the number of pitches, at the time of the January count in each of the years 1992 to 1996 inclusive.

Earl Ferrers: At January 1996, there were 110 uncompleted schemes in the United Kingdom with Stage II approval (or equivalent), which would provide 1,907 pitches. Of these schemes, 51 (813 pitches) were new sites. The remaining 59 (1,094 pitches) represent refurbishment of existing sites. A list of these sites is attached.

I regret that to provide this information for preceding years would entail disproportionate cost.

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Site	(N)ew / (R)efurb	Number of pitches
Corbriggs, Chesterfield	R	16
Daneshill, Nottinghamshire	N	16
Meynells Gorse, Leicester	R	20
Roundlands, Boston, Lincolnshire	N	4
Bignalls Corner, Hertsmere	N	15
Blackwell, Mereway	R	10
Chiltern View, Easton Bray	R	25
Dyes Lane, Stevenage	N	14
Earith Bridge, Cambridgeshire	R	40
Elizabeth Way, Essex	R	21
Felsted Ph2, Uttlesford, Essex	R	10
Fenland Way Chatteris	R	12
Fernhill Lane, Harlow	N	23
First Drove, Burwell	R	8
Gammon Field, Grays, Essex	N	21
Hovefields, Courtauld Road	R	25
Kessingland, Waveney, Suffolk	N	20
Long Marston, Tring, Hertfordshire	R	6
Mansion Lane, Iver, Buckinghamshire	N	12
Mile Cross Site 1, Norwich	R	19
Newbridge Lane, Wisbech	R	24
Oxney Road, Peterborough	R	24
Paston Ridings, Peterborough	R	40
Pepperstock, Luton	R	10
Ridgwell, Essex	N	12
Romany Way, Bury St. Edmunds	R	26
Seadyke Bank, Cambridgeshire	N	12
Ship Lane, Thurrock, Essex	R	21
Swaffham, Castle Acre Road, Norfolk	N	23
Wapsey's Wood, Bucks	R	17
Copperkins Lane, Amersham, Buckinghamshire	R	6
Bottoms Walton, South Buckinghamshire	R	10
Stopsley, Luton	R	20
Gapton Hall, Great Yarmouth	R	19
Saddlebow, Kings Lynn and West Norfolk	R	8
Costessy, Norwich	R	18
Mile Cross 2, Norwich	N	20
Woodham Walter, Essex	N	20
Civic Centre, Wood Green, London	N	6
Durnsford Road, London SW	R	15
Lonesome Depot, Leonard Way London SW16	N	15
Castlehaven Road, Camden	R	1
Dalby Street, Camden	R	3
Clyde Road, Haringey	N	4
Folly Lane, Waltham Forest	N	17
Thistlebrook, Abbey Wood, London SE2	R	40
Ash Bridge, Guildford	N	13
Green Lane, Outwood, Tandridge	R	14
Hever Road, Edenbridge, Kent	R	12
Polhill, Sevenoaks, Kent	N	7
Sandford, South Oxfordshire	R	16
Standlake, West Oxfordshire	N	16
Sundridge Hill, Cuxton, Kent	R	15
Swan Farm, Sevenoaks, Kent	N	35
Vauxhall Road, Canterbury	R	18
Wheatley, South Oxfordshire	N	16
Withy Patch, Lancing, West Sussex	R	12
Swan Barn, East Sussex	R	5
Polly Arch, East Sussex	R	6
Windmill Lane, Tonbridge and Malling, Kent	R	14
Durrants Farm, Tunbridge Wells, Kent	N	4
Ashfield Farm, Rudgeway, Northavon Bristol	N	20
Berkley, Berkley Lane, Somerset	R	15
Bonnie Park, Trowbridge Road, Bratton Wiltshire	R	6
Boscarn Parc, Camborne, Cornwall	N	31
Chiseldon, Near Swindon, Wiltshire	R	30
Culkerton, New Barn Farm, Gloucestershire	N	4
Haylane, Wroughton, Swindon	R	37
Middlezoy, Bridgewater, Somerset	N	20
Otterford, Culmhead, Near Taunton	R	18
Patchway, Highwood Lane, Bristol	R	17
Piddlehinton Camp, Near Dorchester	R	16
Showborough Common, Tewkesbury	N	10
Thornicombe, Near Blandford, Dorset	R	12
Wheal Jewel, The Pound, St. Day, Redruth	N	24
Winterbourne, Avon	N	17
Failand, Avon	N	1
Dairyhouse Bridge, Salisbury, Wiltshire	R	18
Odstock, Salisbury, Wiltshire	R	50
Watery Lane, Hereford	N	11
Evesham Road, Wychavon	N	8
Offerton Lane, Worcester	R	21
Blackmore Park, Malvern Hills	N	5
Cemetary Road, Newcastle, Staffordshire	N	17
Houndsfield Lane, Bromsgrove	R	26
Linehouses, Stoke-on-Trent	R	24
Linton Tileworks, Malvern Hills	N	14
Lower Heath, Stourport-on-Severn, Wyre Forest	R	39
Madley, Hereford	N	17
Tinkers Corner, Bosbury, Malvern Hills	N	7
Showell Road, Wolverhampton	R	16
Hipton Hill, Wychavon	R	22
Pinvin, Wychavon	R	15
Bedford Street, Hull	N	10
Conesby Quarry, Scunthorpe	N	20
Hallfield Road, Foss Islands, York	N	20
Harland Way, Cottingham, Beverley	R	27
Harrogate GS, Harrogate Southern Bypass	N	20
Newington Street, Hull	N	10
Smithies Lane, Barnsley	R	29
Springs Lane, Bickerton, North Yorkshire	N	21
Thirsk, Thirsk Bypass	N	16
Tinsley Park, Sheffield	N	14
Wincolmlee, Hull	N	27
Woldgate, Bridlington	N	27
Craigforth, Stirling	N	20
Forrest Street, Airdriee	N	16
Mossend, Motherwell	R	20
Torlochan, Argyll and Bute	R	10
Monagh Wood, West Belfast	N	21
		1,907

18 Nov 1996 : Column WA128

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