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Building Regulations
Lord Vinson asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the new building regulations L1 and L2 on the conservation of fuel and power coming into effect on 1 April 2002 and comprising 131 papers of instructions and requiring cross-reference to over 90 supporting statutory publications were submitted to the Better Regulation Unit for scrutiny. [HL3191]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: A draft regulatory impact assessment (RIA) was produced to cover the proposals for amendments to Part L that are embodied in the new regulations and in the approved documents that give non-mandatory guidance on how the technical requirements of the regulations may be met. The draft RIA was included in the consultation document published in June 2000. It was amended in the light of responses to the consultation, and both the draft and the final versions of the RIA were scrutinised by the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit (CORIU), formerly known as the Better Regulation Unit. Bill:
A303 Stonehenge Improvement Scheme
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have ensured that the Highways Agency, in inviting tenders for the A303 Stonehenge (Amesbury to Berwick Down) improvement scheme, will specify proposals for the long bored tunnel (as advised by ICOMOS-UK) as well as for short cut-and-cover and short bored tunnel options. [HL3200]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: In line with the scheme announced in A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England, the tenders invited for the A303 Stonehenge scheme require proposals for illustrative designs for either a 2km cut-and-cover or a 2 bored tunnel.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites—UK has asked for a comparison to be made between our proposal and a 4km long bored tunnel. This has been discussed with the council and the comparison will be covered in the environmental statement.
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have secured funding for the long bored tunnel for the A303 at Stonehenge. [HL3201]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Government's proposal is for a 2km length of cut-and-cover tunnel as announced in 1998 in A New Deal for Trunk Roads in England. Funding for the scheme is planned on that basis.
A406 Trunk Road: Litter Clearing
Lord Marlesford asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which company has the contract for litter clearing on the A406 trunk road linking the M11 to the A13; when the road was last cleaned up; whether the present cleanliness of this road is satisfactory; and, if not, what they propose to do about it. [HL3202]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The A406 forms part of the Transport for London Road Network. Contracts relating to it are a matter for the mayor and Transport for London.
Windmills and Windfarms
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether windmills and windfarms will not be approved against the wishes of the relevant local communities and local planning authorities. [HL3211]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: National planning policy with regard to windfarms is set out in PPG 22 (renewable energy), which provides planning authorities with guidance on a range of issues that affect the siting of wind turbines and other renewable energy developments. We are currently reviewing the guidance and will consult widely on the revised draft.
The Secretary of State's general approach is not to interfere with the jurisdiction of local planning authorities unless it is necessary to do so. Parliament has entrusted them with responsibility for day-to-day planning control in their areas. Local planning authorities are normally best placed to make decisions relating to their areas and it is right that, in general, they should be free to carry out their duties responsibly, with the minimum of interference. There will be occasions, however, when the Secretary of State may consider it necessary to call in a planning application to determine himself instead of leaving it to the local planning authority. His policy is to be very selective about calling in planning applications. He will in general take this step only if planning issues of more than local importance are involved and if those issues need to be decided by the Secretary of State rather than at a local level. Each case is, however, considered on its own facts. Barry
Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions: Consultants
Baroness Hanham asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What guidelines govern the employment of consultants in the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions. [HL3225]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The department has internal guidelines for the employment of consultants. The guidelines cover among other things the principle of obtaining value for money, the selection of consultants and the preparation of business cases.
Cross-governmental guidance is also followed as necessary.Clay Pigeon Shooting
The Earl of Shrewsbury asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether consultations took place with the clay pigeon shooting organisations prior to the publication of the consultation on possible changes to the use classes order and temporary uses provisions; and which bodies were consulted. [HL3235]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The department held no consultations with clay pigeon shooting organisations before publication of the consultation paper on 24 January 2002.
The Earl of Shrewsbury asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, following the publication of the consultation on possible changes to the use classes order and temporary uses provisions, they intend to consult all interested parties, including all the shooting organisations and landowners where such activities might take place; and what are the names of those to be approached. [HL3236]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The consultation paper on possible changes to the use classes order and temporary use provisions was published on 24 January 2002. The issue of clay pigeon shooting is addressed in the temporary uses part of the consultation paper. In respect of the temporary use provisions, the paper puts forward six options for possible change as well as inviting proposals for alternative options.
We would welcome views on the consultation paper from all interested parties, including shooting organisations and landowners. The consultation period expires on 24 April 2002. The department will then consider the views of all those who have responded before making any decisions on the future composition of the use classes order and temporary use provisions. Janice
Road Congestion Charging
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will seek to exempt ministerial cars from road congestion charges imposed by the Greater London Authority. [HL3254]
Lord Falconer of Thoroton: No.
Foot and Mouth Disease
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they circulated the foot and mouth disease contingency plans for Great Britain to all the
- national and local disease control centres as soon as the plans were updated and published; and what checks were made to ensure they had been put into effect.[HL3031]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): The foot and mouth disease contingency plan was not circulated to animal health offices when it was updated in July 2000 because the changes were comparatively minor ones, for example, names and addresses, which had been circulated to staff already. The State Veterinary Service receives its instructions on foot and mouth procedures through detailed operational procedures. These are available online through the department's intranet facility and includes a section on contingency planning. In addition to this, each animal health office is required to maintain up-to-date, local contingency plans dealing with foot and mouth disease and other notifiable diseases (e.g. classical swine fever, rabies etc). These plans are reviewed on a regular basis.
Disabled People: Protection of Rights
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What developments there have been internationally since the representation to the Prime Minister on 5th July 2000 of Rehabilitation International's Charter for the Third Millennium, particularly with regard to the charter's call for a United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people and related developments. [HL2933]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham): In November 2001, a UN General Assembly Resolution established an ad-hoc committee to consider proposals for an international convention to protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. The committee is expected to meet later this year and will take account of the recommendations of the UN Commission for Social Development, the UN Commission of Human Rights and the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Disability.
In addition, the Irish resolution at the commission on Human Rights (CHR) in 2000 has led to a study on the adequacy of existing international standards to protect the rights of disabled people. The report is due soon.
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