§ Mr. LepperTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the draft proposal by Cuba on hawksbill turtles for discussion at the forthcoming conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. [107609]
§ Mr. MullinThis proposal, together with others for consideration at the forthcoming CITES Conference, was discussed at a recent informal meeting of EU experts.
It seems unlikely that the Commission will recommend member states to support Cuba's main proposal. While EU experts were in general agreement that Cuba's precautionary measures, as observed by the fact-finding mission in September 1999, appear to be in order, the status of the species in Caribbean waters remains unclear.
612Wplanning applications may also be challenged in the courts. While the introduction of a third party right of appeal would give opponents of particular development proposals further opportunities to have their views considered, this could delay many otherwise acceptable developments on which people have already been consulted.
§ Mr. TrickettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many times he has rejected the recommendations of planning appeals inspectors; what proportion of the total number of such recommendations this represents; and how many such decisions were subsequently the subject of legal challenge, in each of the last five years. [107592]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe information is as follows: