Part of Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill – in a Public Bill Committee at 9:30 am on 1 February 2005.
Anne McIntosh
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Shadow Minister (Transport)
9:30,
1 February 2005
That is most helpful. We would not wish to open the floodgates for further appeals. I seek clarification of why the Minister thinks that the Secretary of State would be better placed. The history of the contaminated land and the remediation order would be better known to local people and the local magistrates. Only where a notice had been served by a local authority under section 78L of the Environmental Protection Act 1990—a good Act, which I commend to the Minister's Department—are appeals heard by inspectors appointed for that purpose. Those inspectors make the decision or send the case to the Secretary of State to decide upon.
Presumably the inspectors will by definition not be local and will be drafted in for their expertise in the subject matter rather than the local area. Given the number of sites that may be used for alternative purposes in future, the problem will become an increasing issue.
I am interested to know what representations were made during consultation and what regard the Minister has paid to those representations.
The Minister said that there had been only one appeal to date under section 78L of the 1990 Act. What is the level of appeal to the Secretary of State in matters to which the new procedure already applies?
How will the inspectors be qualified and trained? Is there a ready pool available, or will the inspectors be newly created? If so, will that impose an additional burden of cost, presumably to borne by the Department rather than local authorities, and will it lead to more bureaucratic procedures? At the moment there is a straightforward recourse to the magistrates court. If every owner of contaminated land appeals to the Secretary of State, how long will it take for those appeals to be heard and for the land to be cleaned up? We are particularly wedded to the 1990 Act, as it was passed on our watch and we believe that it has served extremely well.
How does the Clause relate to the duty of care under earlier provisions in the Bill, particularly those in which the Government have requested that the duty of care should be actively promoted in the business community and that there should be a general recognition, albeit quite low, of what that duty is?
Subsection (7) relates to the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales. Will there be a separate pool of inspectors to cover Wales or will one pool cover England and Wales? What is the situation in Scotland? It would be nice to think that the provisions in Scotland and Northern Ireland were broadly similar to those in England and Wales.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
A parliamentary bill is divided into sections called clauses.
Printed in the margin next to each clause is a brief explanatory `side-note' giving details of what the effect of the clause will be.
During the committee stage of a bill, MPs examine these clauses in detail and may introduce new clauses of their own or table amendments to the existing clauses.
When a bill becomes an Act of Parliament, clauses become known as sections.
