§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the involvement of the hazardous waste inspectorate in the events at Morriston Park building site in Cambuslang.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe hazardous waste inspectorate's involvement at Morriston Park has been to provide independent advice to ensure that the developers and the district council were aware of the steps which should be taken to establish reliable information about the presence or otherwise of landfill gas at the site.
This advice was based on the Government's technical memorandum on the monitoring and control of landfill gas, namely waste management paper No. 27.
§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will outline the powers district councils have to compel house builders to make safe sites they propose to build on.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonPart G of the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1981–87 contains provisions governing the preparation of sites under which matter harmful to health must be removed from the site of any building intended for human use and habitation and from the ground in the vicinity of the building. The regulations are enforced by the relevant local authority, usually the district council. Under section 6 of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959 a warrant must be obtained from the local authority before work starts; under section 9(5) of the Act it is an offence for any person to occupy or use a building, constructed by virtue of such a warrant, before a certificate of completion is issued.
§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what planning regulations there are setting out procedures to be carried out in investigating whether methane gas is present on a building site before building commences.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThere are no planning regulations setting out procedures for an investigation for the presence of methane gas on a building site before building commences. The Scottish Development116W Department issued a planning advice note (No. 33) in 1988 on the development of contaminated land which advised developers and local authorities on the need to identify and investigate land previously used for industrial and waste disposal purposes in order to assess the risks in developing such land.
§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers he has to compel house builders to make safe sites they propose to build on.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe construction of new houses must be carried out in accordance with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1981–87, which include provisions governing the preparation of sites. Enforcement of the regulations is the responsibility of the relevant local authority under powers contained in the Building (Scotland) Act 1959.
§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what powers he has to compel house builders to remedy any safety risk discovered after building is completed on a site, and houses have been sold.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonNone. Under section 13 of the Building (Scotland) Act 1959, however, local authorities have powers to take action in respect of buildings found to be dangerous.