Growth and Infrastructure Bill

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

[Mr Speaker]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

New clause 6—Local powers to establish permitted development rights—

‘(1) Section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (3) after second “order”, insert “issued by the local planning authority”.

(3) After subsection (3) insert—

“(3A) Where a local planning authority proposes to make an order under this section it shall first prepare—

(a) a draft of the order; and

(b) a statement of its reasons for making the order.

(3B) The statement of reasons shall contain—

(a) a description of the development which the order would permit; and

(b) a plan or statement identifying the land to which the order would relate.

(3C) Where a local planning authority has prepared a draft local development order, it shall consult, in accordance with regulations, persons whose interests it considers would be affected by the order.”.’.

New clause 7—Town and Country Planning Act 1990 pre-application case oversight—

‘Section 74 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (Directions etc. as to method of dealing with applications) is amended by the addition of the following paragraph at the end of subsection (1).

“(g) for requiring the local planning authority, in relation to a proposed application for planning permission for development of a type prescribed by the order, to oversee (including by the giving of advice and opinions) the preparations and consultation being made and carried out by the applicant in relation to the proposed application, requiring the applicant and any other person specified by the order to participate in the oversight arrangements made by the local planning authority, including by attendance at pre-application hearings conducted by or on behalf of the authority, and requiring the payment of fees by the applicant for the oversight arrangements for a maximum period to be set out in regulations.”.’.

New clause 8—Pre-application stage of major infrastructure regime—

‘Section 51 of the Planning Act 2008 (Advice for potential applicants and others) is amended by the addition at the end of the following subsection—

“(5) Regulations under subsection (3) may also make provision for the oversight (including the giving of advice and opinions) by a person appointed by the Secretary of State of the preparations being made by an applicant in relation to a proposed application and the applicant’s compliance with the provisions of this Part and those having effect under it, and in doing so the regulations may require the applicant and any other person to participate in the oversight arrangements made by the person appointed by the Secretary of State, including by attendance at case management conferences, and the payment of fees by the applicant and for a maximum period to be set out in regulations.”.’.

New clause 9—Consents under Electricity Act 1989: powers of the Welsh Ministers—

‘(1) The Electricity Act 1989 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 36C insert—

“36D Consents under section 36 relating to generating stations in Wales

In relation to generating stations in Wales, sections 36 to 36C and Schedule 8 (so far as it relates to sections 36 to 36C) have effect as if references to the Secretary of State were references to the Welsh Ministers.”.’.

New clause 11—Infrastructure requirement—

‘(1) Section 39 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (sustainable development) is amended as follows.

(2) After subsection (2) insert—

“(2A) The person or body must exercise the function with the objective of identifying that there is, or will be, sufficient infrastructure to support new development that is proposed in a development plan document, or in a subsequent revision to a development plan document.”.

(3) In subsection (3) omit “subsection (2)” and insert “subsections (2) and (2A)”.

(4) After subsection (3) insert—

“(4) In this section ‘infrastructure’ has the same meaning as in section 216 of the Planning Act 2008.”.’.

New clause 12—Cumulative effects of development consents on climate change—

‘(1) The Planning Act 2008 is amended as follows.

(2) After section 13 (legal challenges relating to national policy statements) insert—

“13A Cumulative effects

(1) The Secretary of State shall publish on 6 April each year a report setting out the cumulative effect of development consents granted under this Act on the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change.

(2) A statement designated under section 5 must contain a statement to the effect that it is the Secretary of State’s view that the requirement of subsection (1) is ratified.”.’.

(3) In section 105 (decisions in cases where no national policy statement has effect), after subsection (2)(b), insert—

“(ba) the cumulative effect of development consents on the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change set out in the report published by the Secretary of State under section 13A;”.

(4) In section 105, at the end add—

“(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(ba), the reference to the report published by the Secretary of State under section 13A means the last report published under that section.”.’.

Amendment 42, page 1, line 2, leave out clause 1.

Government amendment 5.

Amendment 43, page 36, line 2, leave out schedule 1.

Amendment 49, in clause 8, page 10, line 31, leave out

‘economic growth in the United Kingdom’

and insert

‘sustainable development and economic growth in the United Kingdom through the Government’s broadband programme.’.

Government amendment 6.

Government new clause 3—Variation and replacement of pre-Planning Act 2008 consents.

Government amendments 7 to 21, 33 and 34.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

The Minister will know that some time was spent in Committee debating the true purpose of clause 1 and its inherent anti-localist, centralising agenda. We sought to test whether the Government had intended to produce a clause that would enable major planning discussions and decisions in designated authorities to be taken by the Secretary of State—usually by the Planning Inspectorate on his behalf—thus significantly reducing the influence that local people have on planning decisions affecting their area. Astonishingly, that did seem to be their intention. Their love affair with localism seems to have been short-lived.

A second major issue in Committee was the nature of the designation itself, whether the criteria to be used were fair and whether the Government should be going down the route of designation at all. If their purpose is really to improve decision making in local authorities, that does not appear to be the appropriate or sensible route.

We were somewhat hampered by the fact that the consultation document relating to the designation of failing planning authorities appeared only a very short time—in fact, less than an hour—before the Committee commenced discussion of clause 1. Since then, we have had the opportunity to consider the document in more detail. Unfortunately, the consultation document does not make happy reading, and I feel that I need to urge local authorities and others to respond to it by 17 January.

An authority’s track record of speed is to be measured over a two-year period, based on the percentage of major applications determined within statutory limits, and quality is to be measured by the percentage of decisions on major applications that are overturned on appeal. Both criteria have their problems, but overall the approach seems to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut. As we know, application of the first will draw in only a handful of authorities—even then, we are not sure how many—and the second none at all.

The Minister knows there is no evidence base for the measures in the clause, and they could put additional pressures on local authorities to agree to applications that, on balance, they might have refused. We know that is the case because of what happened in Committee. The Minister was given alternative criteria for designation that were much more in line with the localist agenda, such as being designated for failure to make decisions in line with the local plan. Unsurprisingly, he refused to accept the amendment.

As we heard in Committee, however, it is much worse than that. The Government are consulting on criteria, but the clause allows the Secretary of State to alter them, seemingly on a whim. The Minister was vague in Committee on whether changes would occur only after a period of consultation, and I hope he will be able to give us more clarification today. The power-grabbing tendencies of the Secretary of State, as endorsed by the clause, were also a continual theme of our deliberations. At no stage have improvements been made, despite the Minister being given numerous opportunities to do so through our amendments, and that should be regretted.

I ask the House to excuse me, as I have a terrible cold.