Housing and Planning Bill

Debate between Baroness Whitaker and Lord Clement-Jones

Tuesday 22nd March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, I declare an interest as an honorary fellow of the RIBA. I shall speak to Amendments 94A and 95A, so persuasively introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Best, and Amendment 101BA, in my name. The noble Baroness, Lady Hodgson of Abinger, who regrets she cannot be here, also supports these important amendments, as does the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. So there is all-party support for amendments which are intended to ensure that, in the radical changes to planning processes envisaged by permission in principle, the all-important role of good design is guaranteed. Why is it all-important? Because good design has a fundamental effect on well-being, environmental quality, and the long-term economic value of buildings and competitiveness of places, and because it is at risk in the new procedure proposed.

We heard in the Select Committee on National Policy for the Built Environment, which reported on 19 February, powerful evidence that health, employment prospects, access to services and amenities, were all improved by design which respected good place-making. The Minister responsible, Brandon Lewis, said to us that,

“an increased focus on good quality design could help us to deliver more homes, at a quicker pace, which communities can feel proud of”.

Planning authorities are the custodians of their local community’s requirements for the right design for their place. To substitute for their discretion an as-of-right regime is to risk issuing a blank cheque for the design of the development. It means that the all-important factors of height, density, landscape, layout, connections for transport and access, to name but a few, need not be considered from the outset. But it is at the outset that they should be thought about. These are not matters of detail, as the Bill would have us believe, but fundamental development parameters that determine the suitability of the development, both to its place and to the needs and aspirations of communities. This is how the National Planning Policy Framework—a very good achievement by the Government—envisages the role of design, and it is the right one. Without consideration of these matters of place-making, how will communities know how developments impact on surrounding areas, on the environment and on the sense of place? Yet they are being asked to give their approval without due regard to these matters. This is surely a recipe for nimbyism.

These amendments all reinforce the essential consideration to be made right at the beginning of a development process, in accordance with the NPPF, of what sort of place will result. The site-specific guidance need only set out the fundamental design requirements and should be relatively easy and quick to prepare, either by the local authority or by the developer. It can be done for an area as much as for individual sites, but it would be a tremendous advantage. It would be an invaluable way to strengthen the hand of planning authorities now that they have been so hollowed out by local authority cuts in staff and expertise. Our recommendation in the Select Committee report is prefaced by the sentence:

“We are anxious to ensure that moves towards a permission in principle do not undermine the capacity of local authorities to develop, design and integrate key sites in a way that ensures that they function effectively and respond to local needs and aspirations”.

Finally, the implementation of these amendments would make it easier for local communities to accept the development that is necessary to provide the housing we need, as the noble Lord, Lord Best, said. They can involve public engagement early on in the process as well as provide an opportunity to establish what is important to local people. All the evidence suggests that a little more effort spent establishing the key principles at the start can greatly smooth and shorten the process of planning and development overall. I urge the Minister to respect her Government’s NPPF and accept them.

[Lord Clement-Jones]

My Lords, I rise very briefly as a member of the Select Committee to support Amendments 94A and 95A, so ably spoken to by both the noble Lord, Lord Best, and the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, and simply to draw the Minister’s attention to a couple of paragraphs in the Select Committee report which directly bear on the planning-in-principle point. Paragraph 143 says:

“These proposals have caused some concern. It was suggested that ‘principle’ and ‘detail’ in the planning system were closely related”.

One particular witness is quoted as saying:

“This negates the whole basis of the fact that detail and principle in planning are intimately related. How is it possible to give permission for something in principle, without understanding its detailed design or flood risk mitigation or sustainable urban drainage or proportion of social housing? I could go on. It misunderstands the intellectual process of making planning decisions”.

So the Select Committee came to the conclusion in paragraph 148:

“We are anxious to ensure that moves towards a permission in principle do not undermine the capacity of local authorities to develop, design and integrate key sites in a way that ensures that they function effectively and respond to local needs and aspirations. The relationship between principle and detail is important in the planning system. We recommend that the Government should carefully consider the impact its reforms could have upon this relationship. As a minimum, it is important that the process of granting permission in principle and Technical Details Consent should give due regard to design quality, sustainability, archaeology, heritage and all the other key components of place-making that would normally be required for the granting of planning permission”.

This amendment precisely reflects those concerns and I very much hope the Minister will have due regard to them.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Whitaker and Lord Clement-Jones

Monday 11th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, I support the amendments of my noble friend Lord Stevenson of Balmacara in this group, but I will speak to the ones in my name. I tabled these amendments in Committee and will not repeat what I said at that time. The reason for their reappearance is that in his reply on 28 January the Minister said that I had raised an interesting point which deserved further consideration. He went on to say,

“we shall have the opportunity to consider these very specific issues more carefully”.—[Official Report, 28/1/13; col. GC 443.]

At a subsequent meeting that the noble Lord helpfully held with us and his officials, I was assured that my points were taken and that they were working on a solution. Now is the time, I hope, to hear it.

I briefly remind noble Lords that Amendment 84ZBA applies the new copyright protection to works of art made prior to June 1957 and brings the UK back into compliance with European legislation. Amendment 84ZEB is pretty much consequential to Clause 66 to make sure that regulations apply to copyrights which were never protected under previous legislation but will be now, again bringing the UK into compatibility with the decisions of the European court. Amendment 84ZEA allows a short transition period, with a possible extension for third persons who manufacture or hold stocks of copies of design works within the European Economic Area.

I also remind noble Lords of the present situation for our many talented designers who contribute sizeably to economic growth. Because sufficient protection has been lacking, the UK has become a safe haven for the sale of replicas of designs which breach copyright. Only two other countries in Europe behave in this way—Estonia and Romania. Criminal prosecutions are pending against UK-based suppliers in other countries. We should not allow this damage to the reputation of our design market, potentially one of our great strengths. No British jobs are at stake if we implement these amendments and fair competition, as well as our international reputation, will be improved. Our brilliant design businesses will have more security to develop, so I very much look forward to the Minister’s reassurance.

[Lord Clement-Jones]

My Lords, I would like to speak to Amendment 84ZC in this group. I come from a slightly different perspective from that of the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, because there is particular concern among publishers that the giving of full copyright protection to three-dimensional artistic works will impact on those who create two-dimensional images of such works, including publishers, museums, educational establishments and filmmakers, and that designers taking inspiration from existing works will be penalised.

There is particular concern that this clause will have an adverse effect on the publishers of books that include images and description of artistic works. This consideration was wholly absent from the impact assessment. Where such books currently include copyright material, they may possibly come to be in breach of copyright as the images and descriptions being used will have had their copyright term lengthened. Furthermore, implementation of the clause will have a serious negative effect on the future ability of publishers to produce such books.

In Committee, the Minister responded to a debate on an initial amendment, and said:

“The amendments seem to be intended to create special cases for particular uses of works. It is not clear that there is a compelling reason for some artistic works to be treated differently in that way”.

However, the Minister further said that exceptions being proposed as part of the modernising copyright programme could cover the situation. He said:

“These will include, for example, an amended quotation exception, which will permit the use of photographs of artistic works in situations that the courts determine to be fair, and new exceptions for education. Those could cover some uses envisaged under the amendment”.—[Official Report, 28/1/13; col. GC 437.]

This amendment is designed to elicit a more detailed statement from the Minister about the expected exceptions, such as quotation, education and fair dealing. It is important for him to clarify issues about the retrospectivity of the clause where legitimate copies have been made of a work after the expiry of the design protection and before the new extended term of copyright protection has arisen under this clause. Can existing photographs, for example, be used in newly published works? What is the position of reprints?

The Government also need to give details of the impact of this clause on publishing and other sectors and to give assurances about the formulation of the transitional provisions accordingly. In that respect I support, and have added my name to, the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, about when this clause might come into effect.

Government Amendment 84A is also in this group, which I very much welcome. We debated the former Clause 66, which is now Clause 67. I may get my retaliation in first in terms of welcoming the clause. It is a good omen for going forward in further discussion on Part 6, and a good omen for discussion on the exceptions when we come to them later this year. I am delighted with the Government’s very clear statement about the use of Clause 67, and I know that it will be widely welcomed.

Health and Social Care Bill

Debate between Baroness Whitaker and Lord Clement-Jones

Wednesday 16th November 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, I rise to support Amendments 72A, 81A, 91A, 200A, 201ZA, 327B, 327C, 329A, 331C and 333B—all amendments on speech and communication. I think that Amendment 218A should also have been included because it deals with integration—in this case, for the commissioning groups. I hope that when the Minister deals with that later amendment, he will be able to recall this debate.

I support these amendments very warmly for all the reasons that the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and my noble friend Lady Wilkins have set out so cogently. I should also, in this very brief intervention, like to draw attention to the excellent BBC film “The Kid’s Speech”—not “The King’s Speech”, although that was very good too—which graphically portrayed not only the crippling effects of stammering on children’s development, as well as on their happiness, but also an integrated way to deal with it, employing educational as well as physiological expertise. I commend this short documentary to anyone who wants to understand why it is so important to help these children properly early on.

The assessment and treatment of speech, language and communication problems must come within public health. I asked the Minister about this when I made a few remarks at Second Reading. However, with that vast marathon of questions, I quite understand that he did not have time to reply, although I hope that he will be able to do so at the end of this debate. The information must be accessible to those with low literacy and poor understanding. Finally, there must be integration not only with the health and social care services but also with education and children’s services, or we shall fail that very large number of children with speech, language and communication difficulties.

[Lord Clement-Jones]

I, too, support the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham. He clearly has a great deal of support in the Committee for the amendments, on which he spoke so eloquently, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins.

I come at this as a former chairman, and now the president, of Ambitious about Autism, the autism education charity, and also as a very strong supporter of I CAN, the communications charity for children. I also strongly believe that speech, language and communications needs should be regarded as a public health issue. As both the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, and the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins, highlighted, speech, language and communication needs are the most common disability experienced by children or adults, and it is now being recognised that communication is indeed the single most significant factor in determining a child’s life chances. Because our economy has become increasingly dependent on communication-based employment, the fitness of a person in this century will be defined ever more in terms of his or her ability to communicate effectively. The economic impact on society of people whose communication disability renders them unemployable is significant and is growing year on year. As a society, we need to recognise this issue and find ways to improve the communication skills of children and adults.

As has been pointed out by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, a number of primary care trusts and local authorities in England have indeed already recognised the importance of boosting early language and communication development. They have aligned the work of speech and language therapists with the Healthy Child Programme and Sure Start children’s centres to create a powerful public health approach based on primary prevention.

However, in contrast, many commissioners—this was also mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Wilkins—as reported by Sir Ian Kennedy last year in Getting it Right for Children and Young People, have a limited understanding of children with speech, language and communication needs. Many of these local areas are still not doing enough to address these needs, and it is clear that the economic and social benefits of early intervention and prevention of speech, language and communication needs must be much better promoted. That is why the approach indicated by these amendments is so important and why I support them.