§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made by his Department in implementing each of the recommendations of the Stewart report into mobile telecommunications masts. [89786]
§ Mr. McNultyOn 22 August 2001, following public consultation, and taking into account the recommendations in the Stewart report, published in May 2000, we introduced changes to the planning procedures and guidance (PPG8) for telecommunications mast development which significantly improved the planning procedures and guidance for telecommunications mast development. Our changes included
strengthened public consultation requirements on mast proposals of 15 metres and below so that they are the same as for planning applications;increased the time for an authority to deal with prior approval applications to 56 days;underlined that school governors must be consulted on all proposals for new masts on or near a school or college; andincreased fees to enable authorities to carry out full public consultationIn November 2000, we published a revised Code of Best Practice on Mobile Phone Network Development. This is a tripartite document between central and local Government and the telecommunications industry and builds on the advice in PPG8 "Telecommunications" and the operators' 10 commitments to improve consultation on mast proposals with local communities and local planning authorities.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has no plans to amend further the planning arrangements for telecommunications development.