National Infrastructure Projects: Devolution

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

We have tried to avoid increasing the list of statutory consultees because it affects the process. However, any authority can contribute to the planning process; I know that the noble Baroness is aware of that. We would expect local water authorities, where they consider that there will be a problem, to contribute both to an NSIP application or to a local planning authority application.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, there is hard evidence—we have just had a Conservative speaker.

[Baroness O’Neill of Bexley (Con)]

I did not get up quickly enough then, but I did this time.

[Captain of the King’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard and Deputy Chief Whip (Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent) (Lab)]

My Lords, there is plenty of time for both noble Lords. We have just heard a Conservative Member, so we will have Labour and then the Front Bench.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

Thank you. As I was saying, we know that infrastructure development in this country is more expensive than in many other developed countries and takes longer, mainly due to our planning system and the way that regulators in this country are risk-averse and often work in silos. Can my noble friend explain what the Government are doing further to the Planning and Infrastructure Act to improve this?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

We now have the Planning and Infrastructure Act, which removes some of the obstacles that were causing delays in the planning system, but we have also recently republished the National Planning Policy Framework. It is now a much more straightforward, rules-based system of planning which we hope will make the planning system run more smoothly while removing some of the jeopardy around JRs and so on in the planning system. That, alongside investment in planning officers and the planning system, will make a real difference.