Strathclyde Review

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Rooker

Thursday 17th November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I thank my noble friend and her committee for the work that they have done on this review and more generally. I assure her that I am working very hard with the leader of the House of Commons to have a rigorous approach with our Cabinet colleagues when they bring forward legislation to us.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the Government on the decision. I have one simple request, as this seems to me a golden opportunity. Can the Government say what they are going to do, using this as a lever, to explain to journalists and commentators the role of this House? It is the supreme ignorance among journalists and commentators—which I agree exists also among the other House, and which I shared before I came here—about our role that led to the kind of ignorant interview that the public heard on Radio 4 this morning. Can we use this as an opportunity to explain to the media, as many of us do with the Peers in Schools programme, the exact role of this House? This seems a golden opportunity for the Government, on an all-party basis, to do something about that.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I thank the noble Lord for his comments, and I entirely agree that we have a lot of work to do to improve the public’s understanding of the excellent and important work of this House. I am very keen to try to play my part in that, but we need Members across the House to do it. I know that the Lord Speaker is also very keen to make sure that we do what we can to help the public understand the important role that we play.

Housing and Planning Bill

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Rooker

Wednesday 4th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rooker]

The point I was making is that it is a third party right of appeal. It is a fairly fundamental principle that I do not think exists—but it may do, I may be wrong. That is why I am asking.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I think that the noble Lord is right but I might get clarification and come back to that before I sit down. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, and the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, for this further short debate. I think that we all want communities to be better engaged with the planning system and we all want communities to have more of a say about the future of their areas. That is why we all support neighbourhood planning.

We know that the quality of local planning decisions remains high. In 2015, only 1% of applications where development was refused were overturned on appeal. Our planning system is geared to delivering sustainable development, not development at any cost. We trust that elected councillors will deliver sustainable and appropriate development. The government proposal before your Lordships requires a local planning authority to set out in any report to a planning committee that recommends granting planning permission any conflict with the neighbourhood plan and how the neighbourhood plan has been considered.

The noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, said that this would not change anything but it will. It will improve the clarity and transparency of committee reports to ensure that planning decisions are made in full knowledge of any conflict with a neighbourhood plan. This may be covered presently, but our amendment will make it a requirement. It will require them to demonstrate that they have considered the neighbourhood plan and that they have identified any conflict between the recommendation and the plan. The amendment complements the existing right that communities have to request that the Secretary of State call in applications for his own decision. All requests to call-in are considered carefully, and the Secretary of State does not hesitate to intervene where necessary. For example, over the past 12 months, seven cases involving a neighbourhood plan have been called in. With the existing right to request call-in, the new requirement on planning reports to ensure neighbourhood plans are properly considered and respected, and the Government’s £22.5 million support programme to help communities through every stage of the neighbourhood planning process, I am confident that neighbourhood planning will continue to go from strength to strength.

In response to the question by the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, this is a precedent for third party rights of appeal; it does not exist elsewhere in the planning system. I hope that what I have set out will reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, and I ask her to withdraw her amendment.

Adult Education: Part-time Attendance

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Lord Rooker

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I am happy to say that we have expanded the number of courses where you can get second degree student support so that now people wanting to take subjects allied to medicine, biological and veterinary sciences, agriculture and related sciences, and physical and mathematical sciences can access that support.

[Lord Rooker (Lab)]

With respect to further education —I declare an interest as someone who did three nights a week on day release at one point—would it not be a good idea that, instead of stuffing this place with chancellors of universities of higher education, we put some people with direct knowledge of further education in here?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I am afraid to tell the noble Lord that basically, there is nothing that I can do about it but I have sympathy.