Major Infrastructure Planning Reform

Greg Clark Excerpts

Monday 20th December 2010 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Greg Clark)]

I am today publishing the Department’s work plan on major infrastructure planning reform. This Government believe that securing investment in new infrastructure is essential to deliver sustainable growth over the coming decades and is an integral part of our efforts to rebuild the UK economy and provide new jobs. We cannot expect to meet the needs of tomorrow with yesterday’s infrastructure and we cannot secure essential investment without a planning system designed to meet this need. The work plan sets out the steps that we are taking to deliver this reform.

It is right that decisions on infrastructure of national importance should be taken by democratically elected representatives and not by an unelected quango. The Localism Bill therefore provides a legislative framework for the abolition of the infrastructure planning commission (IPC) and the creation of a major infrastructure planning unit (MIPU) in a new, more streamlined and efficient planning inspectorate. The MIPU will be responsible for examining applications for major infrastructure development and providing high quality advice to Ministers.

For the majority of schemes, decisions will be taken by the Secretary of State responsible for the policy: the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change will take decisions on major energy infrastructure and the Secretary of State for Transport will take decisions on major transport infrastructure.

We envisage that applications relating to hazardous waste will be determined by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and that applications relating to waste water and water supply will be determined jointly by the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This is in line with the position prior to the establishment of the IPC.

The Government are determined to ensure that a return to ministerial decision-making does not mean a return to slow and protracted consideration of applications. It supports the fast-track approach established through the 2008 Planning Act, that is to say that decisions will be taken within 12 months of commencement of an application’s examination. We will set up a ministerial group to oversee the effectiveness of the regime and explore whether additional efficiencies can be made to speed up the process further.

The work plan confirms the Government’s intention to press ahead with the development of national policy statements and indicates a timetable for their production and designation. The Government have made clear their position on additional runways at London’s three major airports and their priority is to create a sustainable framework for UK aviation rather than to produce a national policy statement at this time.

National policy statements should have the strongest possible democratic mandate and subject to the passage of the Localism Bill, they will in future be subject to approval of the House of Commons following parliamentary scrutiny by the House of Commons, the House of Lords or a Joint Committee of both Houses. For those national policy statements which are currently subject to public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, it is the Government’s intention to adopt a similar, informal approach for parliamentary approval to that set out in the Localism Bill.

National policy statements will continue to be the primary documents by which decisions are made on schemes which fall within the 2008 Planning Act regime for major infrastructure. Decisions must be made in accordance with them, although the Secretary of State will also have to take into account any other matters considered both important and relevant to the decision. Those matters can include policy contained within the new national planning policy framework on which I have made a separate statement to the House today.

A copy of the work plan has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses and is available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/mipworkplan