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Airspace: Definition
Lord Kennet asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What, in the various "particular circumstances" referred to in the Written Answer by Baroness Chalker of Wallasey on 3 February 1997 (WA 128), have been the maximum and the minimum heights at which they have set the national airspace, within which the United Kingdom exercises sovereignty.
Viscount Goschen: No particular circumstances have arisen which have caused us to define the vertical limits of United Kingdom airspace.
Goods Vehicles Operating Illegally
Lord Clinton-Davis asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many goods vehicle operators were successfully prosecuted for operating vehicles without authorisation under the Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Regulations in 1995 and 1996 respectively; and
How many goods vehicle operators were found to be operating without proper authorisation under the Goods Vehicle Operating Licensing Regulations during roadside checks in 1995 and 1996 respectively.
Viscount Goschen: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate, Mr. Ron Oliver, to write to the noble Lord.
Letter to Lord Clinton-Davis from the Chief Executive of the Vehicle Inspectorate, Mr. Ron Oliver, dated 19 February 1997.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking how many goods vehicle operators were successfully prosecuted for operating vehicles without authorisation under the Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Regulations in 1995 and 1996 respectively; and how many goods vehicles were found to be operating without proper authorisation under the regulations during roadside checks in the same period.
Separate figures are not currently available for successful prosecutions against goods vehicle operators for the specific offence of unauthorised use or for the number of goods vehicles found to be operating without a valid operator's licence during roadside checks.
The extent of illegal operations was quantified in a report published in April 1996, of the roadside survey of illegal operators carried out by the Vehicle Inspectorate on behalf of the Department of Transport in October 1995. This indicated that illegal operators accounted for less than 2 per cent. of all miles travelled by goods vehicles.
Breast-milk Substitutes: Breaches of Marketing Code
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have any evidence that the Gerber, Mead Johnson, Nestle, Nutricia and Wyeth companies have breached the 1981 International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, as alleged by UNICEF and others; and, if so, whether they will reduce and, if possible, stop, their purchasing from these companies.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege): The Government are concerned about possible breaches of
the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The Government are not aware of any breaches of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in the United Kingdom.Ms Roisin McAliskey
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Who is responsible for deciding on the bail application made on behalf of Miss Roisin McAliskey, on remand in HMP Holloway following a request for extradition to Germany; whether a decision has yet been made; and if so, on what grounds.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch): Decisions on bail in extradition cases are taken by Bow Street Magistrates' Court, in accordance with the Bail Act 1976. Under that legislation, a fugitive offender has no general right to bail, and magistrates are not obliged to give reasons for refusal of bail in extradition cases.
There is no one final decision; applications for bail on Roisin McAliskey's behalf were made in hearings at Bow Street Magistrates' Court on 4, 13 and 20 December, and on 3 and 16 January. They were not granted. The grounds are a matter for the Bow Street Magistrate.
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995: Qualifying Offences
Lord McCluskey asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their estimate of the number of persons who are still alive and who have a conviction or convictions obtained in the High Court in Scotland for any offence listed as a "qualifying offence" in the list of "Qualifying Offences" contained in Part 1 of the proposed Schedule 5A to the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, which would be inserted into that Act if Clause 1(2) of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Bill (H.L. Bill 76) were to be enacted.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Scottish Office (The Earl of Lindsay): Information supplied by the Scottish Criminal Records Office (SCRO) indicates that at November 1996 there were some 3,300 people for whom SCRO had a schedule of previous convictions which included a qualifying offence as defined under Clause 1 of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Bill and where the conviction was in the High Court.
The number above excludes those convicted of robbery with a firearm who were not also convicted of another qualifying offence. The information held by SCRO does not identify whether the robbery involved a firearm. Many of those convicted of robbery with a firearm are also convicted under one of Sections 16-18 of the Firearms Act 1968, which counts as a qualifying offence. Information on persons known to be dead is deleted from the SCRO database.
The Countryside: Revised Planning Guidance
Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they plan to publish the Government's revised Planning Policy Guidance Note 7 on the countryside.
The Minister of State, Department of the Environment (Earl Ferrers): My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is today publishing revised Policy Planning Guidance Note 7 on the countryside.
This new guidance note carries forward our commitment to a living countryside. It will help to ensure that the countryside is increasingly a place in which communities and businesses can thrive, while maintaining the unique qualities which make the English countryside such an attractive place in which to live and work.
The revised note fulfils important commitments in our Rural White Paper by giving greater encouragement to business diversification in the countryside while ensuring that necessary development is of a good quality, complementing and respecting the character of the countryside around it.
The majority of the over 400 responses to the consultation draft welcomed the revised PPG7's comprehensive coverage of planning in the countryside and felt it struck a fair and realistic balance between environmental protection and the need to stimulate rural economic activity. There was particular support for its coverage of sustainable development principles; its recognition of the interdependence between urban and rural policies; its acknowledgement of the value of rural strategies; and its increased emphasis on good design.
The new guidance note restates and clarifies policy on protecting from development the best agricultural land as a national resource. This means that we will maintain a stock of the best agricultural land, with its versatility and efficiency for farming, while making it clear that a more flexible approach may be adopted
where there is an overriding need for development and any alternative land has a recognised, high environmental value or there is little suitable land of lower agricultural quality available.In addition, the guidance note clarifies policy on the reuse of rural buildings, allowing greater discrimination in favour of reuse for business rather than residential purposes; it stresses the importance of thoroughly checking the lawfulness of developments to be carried out under agricultural permitted development rights; advises on the possible removal of new buildings which abuse permitted development rights, without placing unnecessary additional burdens on genuine farmers; and advises local planning authorities on the scope for making planning permission conditional on the removal of unused ugly or derelict buildings in certain circumstances.
My right honourable friend is also pleased to announce today that Charles Nunneley, Chairman of the National Trust, has agreed to chair a small working group on the possible introduction of a rural business use class. This proposal, also included in the Rural White Paper, is designed to encourage enterprise in rural areas by giving local planning authorities an additional control, where needed, over the intensification of new businesses. The working party will consider how best to achieve the implementation of this proposal taking account of the various practical issues and difficulties identified during our recent consultation exercise.
The Arts in the US: Support by Individuals
Lord Freyberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the Secretary of State for National Heritage has asked the Association for Business Sponsorship of the Arts to undertake a study of individual donations to the arts in the United States and, if so, what were its conclusions.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage (Lord Inglewood): My department has not asked the Association of Business Sponsorship of the Arts to undertake a study of individual donations to the arts in the United States.
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