§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
What or who are "Carters" referred to in Lord Hesketh's written answer of 7th November [H.L. Deb, col. 702]: whether "Carters" had a financial interest in the listing or non-listing of the Jubilee Hall, Weymouth, and what was the authority of the "expert's report" commissioned by "Carters" such that the Secretary of State gave it precedence over that of his statutory advisers.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment (Lod Hesketh)"Carters" are Carter Commercial Developments, the owners of the Jubilee Hall, who on their own initiative asked Mr. Ashley Barker (formerly the head of the Greater London Council's historic buildings division and then of English Heritage's London division) to prepare a report on the building in support of their representations. The question of whether or not the company had a financial interest in the listing issue is not relevant. When considering whether or not to list the building, the Secretary of State took into consideration all the advice and representations which he had received before deciding that the building was not a building of special architectural or historic interest. There was no question of the Ashley Barker report being given precedence over the advice given by English Heritage. The Secretary of State reached his decision on all the evidence before him.