§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been received by the Department of Environment from Ards borough council requesting permission to invoke new bye-laws in each of the past 10 years; how many applications from Ards borough council were granted in each year; how many outstanding applications from Ards borough council are awaiting approval; and what the oldest application is from Ards borough council which is not yet approved. [109283]
§ Angela SmithOver the past 10 years, four applications for confirmation of new bye-laws were received by the Department of the Environment in 1994 from Ards borough council. None of these has yet been confirmed.
§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications were received by the Department of Environment from local government authorities requesting permission to invoke new bye-laws in each of the past 10 years; how many applications were granted in each year; how many outstanding applications are awaiting approval; what the oldest application is which is not yet approved; and how many people are employed to process such applications. [109284]
§ Angela SmithDistrict councils have submitted 17 applications for confirmation of new bye-laws to the Department of the Environment, since 1993. Five sets of bye-laws have been confirmed over the past 10 years, leaving 12 cases under consideration. The longest outstanding application dates back to 1994. The record is set out in the table. No member of staff is dedicated to this area of work.
Before confirming a set of bye-laws the Department must be satisfied that they are in the proper form and are within the power of the Department to confirm. The Department generally follows the model bye-laws provided by Home Office and in some instances they must also be confirmed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. This is a lengthy process involving exchanges between district councils and legal advisers for local and central government. It is one of many shared responsibilities and competing priorities.
Applications received Bye-laws confirmed 1993 1 1994 6 1995 1 1996 3 1997 1 1 1998 2 3 1999 2000 1 2001 1 2002 2 Total: 17 5