§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will issue new guidelines to planning authorities on the health risks associated with mobile phone masts. [152831]
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§ Ms Beverley HughesMy right hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Planning wrote to Council Leaders in June 2000 to explain the action the Government had in hand to take forward the planning recommendations of the Stewart report ("Mobile Phones and Health") published in May 2000. The letter said that health considerations and public concern can in principle be material considerations in determining applications for planning permission and prior approval. Whether such matters are material in a particular case is ultimately a matter for the courts. It is for the decision-maker (usually the local planning authority) to determine what weight to attach to such considerations in any particular case. It is the Government's view that if a proposed development meets the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) on limiting public exposure to electromagnetic fields, it should not be necessary for an authority, in processing an application, to consider health effects further.
This was repeated in the draft of Planning Policy Guidance note 8 (PPG8) issued for consultation on 31 July 2000. The consultation exercise, which also sought views on possible changes to the planning laws relating to mobile phone masts, ended on 31 October 2000. The Department is currently considering the responses. We shall announce our conclusions as soon as practically possible.