§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what planning guidance he has issued which relates to applications in respect of prison ships; what considerations are material to such applications; and if he will make a statement. [21413]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordPlanning guidance is issued to local planning authorities for them to take into account, inter alia, in decisions on planning applications. In the case of the proposed temporary mooring of a prison ship in Portland harbour, Dorset, the local planning authority accepts that planning permission is not required. Proposals by the Prison Service for shore-based facilities to serve the ship, which are Crown development, fall to be dealt with under the procedures set out in DOE Circular 18/84.