§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire, East on 17 January, what action is being taken by Her Majesty's Government to revise the planning and building controls which are the subject of much controversy between the local authorities and the public at large.
§ Mr. RifkindWe are anxious to reduce planning controls by increasing the scale of developments which do not need planning permission. Opinion among the organisations consulted at an earlier stage was by no means unanimous about this, but we shall announce our intentions shortly. The objective of the building standards regulations is to ensure minimum standards of construction and safety, but we are considering how to simplify them.