communities and local government committee

Debate between William Cash and Clive Betts

Thursday 18th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Betts]

Assessment of housing need is problematic, and the evidence we received was that often local authorities would work for a long time on it, only for the Planning Inspectorate to arrive at the end of the process, decide that its methodology and conclusions were different and then send the local authorities back to the drawing board. We think that the Planning Inspectorate could work more closely with authorities during the process, but we also feel—I think local authorities generally agree with this—that if the Planning Inspectorate, right at the beginning of the process, laid down in guidance a consistent methodology, most councils would welcome that. Indeed, when Lord Matthew Taylor undertook his report on planning guidance, he suggested that that was an area on which further guidance would be welcome.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

May I congratulate the hon. Gentleman and his Committee on an excellent report and on the balanced way in which they have gone about it, paying tribute where it needs to be paid and making constructive criticisms where they are deserved? On Tuesday I presented to the House the Local Planning and Housing Bill, which I hope the hon. Gentleman will have an opportunity to look at, if he has not already done so. It has been printed and deals with matters such as local plans, neighbourhood plans, housing supply, local development orders, affordable housing, land banking, duration of planning permission, development on greenfield, green belt and brownfield sites, and the definition of sustainable housing development. I hope the hon. Gentleman will find some of the Bill’s ideas helpful and I would be grateful if we could talk about it on a future occasion.

[Mr Betts]

I would certainly be more than happy to meet the hon. Gentleman when I have had a chance to read his Bill, which is on my Christmas reading list and seems to address exactly the sorts of issues the Committee considered. I emphasise that this is a Committee report. The whole of the Committee worked extremely hard and went on the visits, and we agreed the recommendations unanimously.