HC Deb 24 July 1991 vol 195 c666W
Sir Peter Morrison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 18 July,Official Report, col. 241, when he decided, when reviewing structure plans, not to take into account necessary development in villages and rural areas.

Mr. Yeo

[holding answer 23 July 1991]: There has been no such decision, nor could there be under planning law. The Secretary of State's policy remains as currently set out in planning policy guidance note 15. Structure plans must ensure that the scale of provision for development is realistic for the county as a whole, and in terms of its distribution within the county, and be consistent with national and regional policy.

Sir Peter Morrison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment pursuant to his answer of 18 July,Official Report, column 241, (1) if he will publish the statistics which are available on his decisions on panel recommendations in connection with structure plans proposals;

(2) if he will make it his practice to collect comprehensive statistics on his decisions on panel recommendations in connection with structure plans proposals.

Mr. Yeo

[holding answer 23 July 1991]: In each case, the panel report and a statement of the Secretary of State's proposed modifications, with reasons, are published. We keep the degree of modification under scrutiny. The proposed modifications vary in importance and in whether they can be presented quantitatively. For these reasons, no statistical analysis is available, and it would be difficult to draw sound conclusions from any statistical survey.