Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Wednesday 29th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow. I completely agree with his remarks. I thank the Minister for his introduction to the statutory instrument. After 12 years on a district council, I am familiar with permitted development rights and planning fees. However, I am somewhat concerned at the proposals before us. I have no problem with the 20% increase in fees across the board for all types of development, from small extensions, alterations and renewable energy, now set at £96, to fees for planning officer checks, which are up from £250,00 to £300,000 for a development of more than 2,000 homes. I am concerned that this development could take place without full planning permission.

Living, as I do, in a rural area, I am aware that planning, however modest, can generate a huge amount of public interest, which is rarely supportive. For this to take place without the need for planning permission is highly inflammatory to say the least. Permitted development rights have tended to be small in the past. The Government, looking to address the extreme shortage of homes required, brought in legislation that allowed offices to be converted into homes without the required planning permission to be obtained, as the noble Lord, Lord Thurlow, referred to. This led to some very unfortunate circumstances, whereby landowners gave the businesses occupying their buildings notice to quit, so that they could cash in with cheap conversions to flats, without the need to bother with planning.

The instrument, among other categories, puts shops, restaurants, nurseries, gyms and light industrial use into the same use category. This means that one type of activity can be changed for another without any need for additional planning, so a women’s clothing shop on the high street can be changed into a restaurant with no recourse to local council input. A child’s nursery, operating safely in an area, could suddenly find that the gym next door has become light industrial use, with the consequent noise and heavy pollution associated with it.

This will not be popular. It is only through the transparent process of planning and regulation meetings that the public can make their concerns heard. It is only through this process that elected councillors can make recommendations and insert conditions that ensure the safety of those affected. This is not the way to regenerate the economy. Councils take their role in developing local plans for their areas very seriously. Can the Minister say what feedback he has received from councils that now find their local plans overridden by the Government?

Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2020

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I listened to the noble Lord, Lord Greenhalgh, with interest as he laid out the benefits in store for those living in the combined authority area, but I was not convinced.

I have read the instrument and can see that the four constituent councils can elect from their membership one councillor to sit on the authority, plus a second councillor to be a rotational second member. They will undoubtedly be the leaders. These four will then choose from the four rotational members who will sit on the authority each year for a one-year term. These original four councillors are the only ones with votes. The non-constituent councils can each appoint one member to be on the combined authority, and again can appoint a second rotational councillor. These councillors have no voting rights.

The order has an amendment, at Article 19(3):

“In paragraph 3 (proceedings), after sub-paragraph (6) insert—‘(7) Questions relating to the functions conferred by Parts 2 to 5 of the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (Functions and Amendment) Order 2020 cannot be carried without a vote in favour by the Mayor or the deputy Mayor acting in place of the Mayor.’”


None of these councillors will be directly elected to the combined authority. I do not know about your Lordships, but this is not my idea of democracy.

The Government dangle extra money and supposed powers in front of councils to get them to dance to their tune. Local government reorganisation causes a lot of anxiety and distress, especially for those district councils delivering services at the front line. Their voters are not clamouring for this to happen. During the Covid-19 lockdown, districts have really risen to the challenge, but their voice is often ignored in the rush by the larger councils in a money-grabbing exercise. I agree that there is some merit in having decisions taken locally.

The non-constituent councils—that is, those which are not part of the combined authority—are Chesterfield Borough Council and Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Derbyshire Dales and North East Derbyshire District Councils. These councils have a seat at the table but no voting rights.

All this upheaval for an extra £30 million a year—that sounds a lot, but the combined authority covers a large area. It will need to be very wise to make it stretch to cover its aspirations. Can the Minister tell the House how the Government can commit an additional £30 million a year for 30 years for this new combined authority at a time when the country is plunging into recession and uncertainty?

Covid-19: Local Government Finance

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I thank the noble Lord for drawing attention to our respective backgrounds in local government. Clearly, the most important thing is to keep the important services of councils running—their care for the vulnerable and these other things. That is why 90% of the money given so far has been directed to those authorities with adult social care budgets, which provide such a large proportion of the cost-base of a council.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, these are exceptional circumstances. Can the Minister tells us whether, in order to prevent council bankruptcy, the Government would consider allowing local government the same privilege as the NHS of carrying its deficit forward into future years?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

At the moment, all I can point to is the commitment by the department to ensure that the cost and demand pressures, as well as the income pressures, are covered by a comprehensive plan. In addition to the increase in funding for local authorities, that would obviate the need to change the way that local government is financed for the time being.

Local Government: Economy

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

My Lords, I am not in a position to answer that directly. I know that we are moving towards establishing a free trade agreement and a deal with our European Union counterparts, as we are leaving the EU. I will write to the noble Baroness on that specific matter.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, I too declare an interest as a vice-president of the LGA. Local government has a key role to play in the provision of cultural services, including museums, art galleries and theatres. All these play an important part in the recovery of the economy post Covid-19 and in the mental well-being of our population. What plans do the Government have to support councils to help them reopen these vital facilities?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

It is critical to support our cultural institutions, our museums and theatres and also the people who keep those places running. Many of them are self-employed, and access to funding has been granted to many people who are self-employed as well as through the furlough scheme. On the specifics, I am sure this will feature in the local government settlement that will be finalised in the next month or so.

Covid-19: Local Democracy

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Greenhalgh]

The postponement of elections has enabled councils to focus on their role in response to the pandemic and to lead in the recovery phase. It should be noted that under the Civil Contingencies Act there are 38 local resilience fora, in which councils play their full part in leading in the recovery phase and in the response to the pandemic.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, as the Minister has said, the Covid-19 legislation allowed for by-elections in local authorities to be postponed until May 2021. However, this is leading to a deficit in local democracy. How many vacancies in county and district councils and unitary authorities are now waiting for 2021 to be filled?

[Lord Greenhalgh]

I will write to the noble Baroness on the specific number of vacancies. However, I make the point that many people involved in by-elections, including one of my colleagues in local government, Councillor Botterill, understand the need to delay these elections. They understand that it is important and that the decision to delay is the right one. However, I will of course write to the noble Baroness with the specific numbers.