§ 27. Mr. Peter M. Jacksonasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will publish a table setting out the number of tree preservation orders confirmed by his Department in each year over the period 1962 to 1967, broken down in terms of individual counties and county boroughs.
§ Mr. SkeffingtonAs the Answer is in tabular form, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
It is not possible to break down the annual totals by counties and county 1140 boroughs without an unjustifiable amount of extra work.
§ Mr. JacksonI very much regret that my hon. Friend is not in a position to provide me with this information. Would he agree that, if it were provided, it would show that there were still many counties and county boroughs which did not apply for tree preservation orders? What further steps will he take to bring the provisions of the Civic Amenities Act to the attention of such local authorities?
§ Mr. SkeffingtonI can assure my hon. Friend that there has been a considerable increase in the numbers of orders. They are now running at nearly twice the number of a few years back. There was a slight drop in 1967, but I think that this was due to the fact that temporary orders under the 1967 Act now last for a much longer period. The number of orders for the first part of this year is considerably up. We are taking every opportunity to bring to the notice of some local authorities which have not exercised their powers the vital need for them to do so.
§ Sir D. Walker-SmithWould the hon. Gentleman consider making a tree preservation order for Grosvenor Square?
§ Following is the table:
| 1962 | 426 |
| 1963 | 432 |
| 1964 | 608 |
| 1965 | 642 |
| 1966 | 757 |
| 1967 | 652 |