HL Deb 03 February 1987 vol 484 cc133-5

2.48 p.m.

Baroness David

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many sites of special scientific interest have been notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, how many representations or objections have been made to a proposed notification, and how many of those objections have been successful.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lord Skelmersdale)

My Lords, I am advised by the Nature Conservancy Council that on 30th November 1986, 2,571 sites had been renotified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. A further 1,024 had been notified for the first time under the 1981 Act. Information about representations or objections submitted before the 1985 amendment Act became operative is not readily available. However since then, 392 SSSIs have been notified and the boundaries of 30 of these have been modified in response to objections or representations.

Baroness David

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that very full reply. Are there any sites which were notified under the 1949 Act and which still remain to be renotified under the 1981 Act? If so, is it a lack of funds on the part of the NCC that is preventing this?

Lord Skelmersdale

Yes, my Lords. There are indeed sites which the Nature Conservancy Council will have to consider on the basis of their having been listed under the 1949 Act. They are making good progress in their renotification programme, and most certainly the NCC are not inhibited by lack of funds, which have gone up by 350 per cent. since 1979.

Baroness Nicol

My Lords, can the Minister give us some idea of what is happening to sites of special scientific interest which are awaiting renotification and are on government property, belonging to the Ministry of Defence, the Forestry Commission, MAFF or DAFF? Can he say whether those sites are protected by the fact that they are on government property, and whether the Government will be taking a sensible view even though they have not yet been renotified?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, that is a very detailed question. If the noble Baroness has any particular site in mind, I shall of course respond to that if she gives me notice. The 1949 Act sites are given some protection under the 1949 Act. It was decided in 1979 that this was not enough and that is why we got the 1981 Act. The Government will look at their own sites with great care when there are considerations of development or re-use of those particular sites.

Lord Hunt

My Lords, in the light of the Minister's reply to the supplementary question of the noble Baroness, Lady David, perhaps I may ask him whether he is aware that, according to my information, as many as 25 per cent. of the original SSSIs in existence at the time of the passage of the 1981 Act have still not been renotified, and that 50 per cent. of the new sites identified by the NCC since 1981 remain to be designated under the terms of that Act. If those figures are correct, it seems to me that there are something like 1,000 unprotected sites waiting to be so designated. Is there really not a case for providing the NCC with the additional resources required to speed up the process, in view of the vulnerability of those sites?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, the investigations needed before a site is either notified or renotified have a scientific basis. I have assured the noble Baroness opposite that the Nature Conservancy Council have the money. They have not told the Government that they do not have enough scientists to pursue this particular scheme. Equally, the scientific investigations which are necessary are of themselves very lengthy.

The Earl of Selkirk

My Lords, can my noble friend tell me what is the effect of notifying a site? Does that exclude any planning development at all?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, the effect of notifying a site is in a sense temporary, in that any operation likely to damage the scientific values of the site which is on a list given to the owner of the site at the time of notification, has to be discussed with the council. Following this a temporary stop notice for four months is put on while agreements can be arrived at.

Baroness David

My Lords, is the Minister aware that I am very pleased that he said that the NCC have adequate funds for staff? Have they also adequate funds for the management agreements which may have to be drawn up with owners?

Lord Skelmersdale

Yes, my Lords. There has been no problem. In fact, there has never been a case where a management agreement has been unable to be financed.

Lord Mackie of Benshie

My Lords, can the Minister tell us whether there is any limit on the number of sites? If, for example, there are 1,000 sites of one sort of rare beast, bird or flower, do they then cease to be of special scientific interest?

Lord Skelmersdale

My Lords, if there were 1,000 sites of something like the Persian carpet beetle, I suspect that the beetle would not be rare in the first place.