§ Mr. Cashasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will introduce legislation for the payment to objectors at public inquiries of their reasonable costs on the issue of a certificate that the issues in question raise matters of sufficient public interest, such costs to be mandatory when an objector produces an acceptable alternative to the acquiring authority.
§ Mr. WaldegraveSuccessful statutory objectors at inquiries into compulsory purchase and analogous orders are normally awarded their costs, as explained in DOE circular 2/87 issued on 17 February. Otherwise, the Government remain unconvinced of the case for public funding of objectors, for the reasons set out in paragraphs 63–65 of its response to the fifth report from the Environment Committee, Session 1985–86.