§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment on what basis the Health and Safety Executive deals with planning applications; how long it is taking to process these applications ; what effects the proposed cuts in staff will have ; and if he will ensure that all hazard assessments are examined thoroughly.
§ Mr. Mayhew[pursuant to his reply, 11 June 1980, c.132]: Arrangements exist whereby planning authorities may seek advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the safety implications of certain proposed new developments in the vicinity of, or involving, installations containing large quantities of hazardous materials. These arrangements are informal in that there is no statutory obligation on local authorities to consult HSE.
Certain types of planning application within specified zones around particular installations would normally be referred to HSE for comment and advice before the planning authority takes the application decision. In other cases the planning authority would use its discretion in deciding whether to consult HSE.
Requests for advice on developments near to or involving major hazards installations are received from local planning authorities by HSE area offices, who deal directly with the more straightforward cases. No information is presently available on the average time needed to process such cases. Any more difficult cases may be referred to the major hazards assessment unit at HSE headquarters. The unit dealt with 469 cases in 1979. Analysis of a sample of such cases processed in December 1979 indicated that the median time needed by the unit to make a recommendation was 35 days.
The final implications of cuts in staff-related expenditure in HSE have not yet been determined in relations to the group but every effort will be made to deal with planning applications expeditiously.
At present there is no general requirement on operators of hazardous installations to submit safety assessments to 321W HSE for scrutiny. Under the proposed Hazardous Installation (Notification and Survey) Regulations, such a general requirement will be created for installations containing more than specified quantities of certain hazardous materials. Such assessments will be properly examined in accordance with a priority based on the severity of the hazard.