HL Deb 22 July 1986 vol 479 cc201-2WA
Lord Melchett

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether there is an error in Schedule 4 paragraph 2(a) of the Draft Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, laid before the House on 3rd July, in that reference is made to land subject to an order under Section 29(1) of the Wild-life and Countryside Act 1981, instead of land notified under Section 28 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and whether this error can be rectified without the draft regulations being withdrawn and re-laid; and

Whether, under paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4 of the Draft Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, laid before the House on 3rd July, no special consultations are required before aerial spraying takes place which might adversely affect any national nature reserve, nor sites over which the United Kingdom has entered into international obligations to ensure their protection, nor over 99 per cent. of all sites of special scientific interest, and whether they agree that the draft regulations must be amended to ensure that the United Kingdom's international obligations, and undertakings given in Parliament during the passage of the Food and Environment Protection Bill, are met; and

Whether, under paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4 of the Draft Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, laid before the House on 3rd July, operators wishing to undertake aerial spraying of pesticides will need to find out what areas of land are currently subject to a temporary order made under Section 29(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and how they expect operators to implement this part of the regulations, given that Section 29 orders may be imposed in an emergency without advance warning and are not normally the subject of any publicity; and

Whether the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC) were consulted about the Draft Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986, laid before the House on 3rd July, and whether the NCC agreed to the wording in paragraph 2(a) of Schedule 4.

Lord Belstead

Schedule 4 to the Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986 sets out the "basic conditions" subject to which a consent to the use of pesticides applied from an aircraft may be given. However the draft regulations also provide for Ministers to impose "any further conditions" in the notice of consent. The advice provided by the Nature Conservancy Council during the drafting of the regulations was that the regulations should require aerial operators to consult the NCC in advance where the aerial application of pesticides proposed on land which was within ¾ of a nautical mile of a site of special scientific Interest.

Ministers have agreed, and the notice of consent as issued will contain references to both Sections 28 and 29 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in order to achieve this effect, and to national nature reserves. NCC have recently requested extension of this provision to local nature reserves established by local planning authorities under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. This request is under consideration.