§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of state for National Heritage how many buildings in the Government's historic estate(a) are in disrepair and (b) have Crown immunity; how many of those in disrepair have Crown immunity; what prososals she has to (i) tackle this desrepair and (ii) end crown immunity for such buildings; and if she will make a statement. [25717]
§ Mr. SproatThere are about 1,600 historic buildings in the Government estate, which are either statutorily listed or scheduled ancient monuments. All have Crown immunity. Thirty-one are known to be in disrepair and at risk. Departments have developed proposals to dispose of 17 of these, mostly through sale on the open market. The remainder are subject to regular comprehensive surveys, used to prioritise essential repairs. Many of the 31 buildings at risk are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence, whose expert historic buildings advisory group considers ways in which the buildings might be disposed of or brought into use.
The Government have already announced the intention to end Crown immunity from planning and conservation controls at a suitable legislative opportunity. The implications of this for certain aspects of conservation policy will be discussed in the forthcoming Green Paper.