§ 1. Mr. John Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he now expects to be able to confirm the byelaws submitted by the London borough of Bromley in respect of model aircraft flying in parks.
The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Dr. Shirley Summer-skill)As soon as certain technical problems are resolved, and the local authority has completed the statutory procedures.
§ Mr. HuntIs it not incredible that, four years after Bromley council first applied for a ban on model aircraft flying and 19 months after the local public inquiry, letters are still being exchanged between the council and the Home Office about the precise technical wording of the byelaws? As the hon. Lady's last act in office, will she cut the red tape, confirm the byelaws, bring relief to my long-suffering constituents and make a place for herself in the history books of Bromley?
§ Dr. SummerskillAs I have shown the hon. Gentleman in a letter just sent to him, which was the Department's reply to the Bromley council, the council has made the matter more difficult by deciding to remake all its parks byelaws. The byelaws are extremely complex. They involve much drafting, and different statutes apply to the council's various parks and open spaces. We are proceeding as quickly as we can with a complex matter.