Clause 1 - Regional Spatial Strategy
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Bill
2:32 pm
Sir Sydney Chapman (Chipping Barnet, Conservative)
I echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Cotswold (Mr. Clifton-Brown) in welcoming you to the Chair, Mr. Pike.
When I read subsection (2) I was filled with amazement. At first I thought that it was included to meet the needs of the Deputy Prime Minister, whose speech has a unique style, but the words do not add to the clarity of the clause. The subsection as drafted is open to abuse and gives the Secretary of State carte blanche—I always like to use a French phrase when I disagree with something. I should be interested to know why the words are necessary and I hope that the Minister will enlighten us. I want to know, too, why they are in brackets: is it a typographical error? Was it in the first draft especially for the Deputy Prime Minister and left in unintentionally? Seriously, I should be interested to know if there is a precedent for the phrase, in brackets or not. Has it been used in any other legislation in this Parliament?