Clause 1
Planning-gain Supplement (Preparations) Bill
10:45 am
John Healey (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Wentworth, Labour)
In moving his amendment, the hon. Member for Rayleigh ranged rather wider than the Bill and rather widely over the purpose of his later amendments and new clauses, so those who missed his comments may have the chance to hear them a little later.
Clause 1 is the main provision in this short, straightforward Bill. It gives the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, a Northern Ireland Department and the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs the necessary authorisation to incur the preparatory expenditure necessary for the possible introduction of a planning gain supplement. The clause allows Parliament to provide the money in the normal way, so it is subject to the usual procedure of supply.
The hon. Gentleman urges us to speed up the decisions that we might take on the planning gain supplement, but he is in something of a minority in that respect. Industry representatives and the Select Committee on the Treasury have welcomed the deliberate, consultative and detailed way in which we have prepared and analysed our policy on this issue. We have approached it with great seriousness and care ever since Kate Barker first included it as a recommendation in her 2004 report. Last week, in its report on the Chancellor’s pre-Budget report, the Select Committee said:
“We welcome the measured way in which the Government is consulting on and taking forward proposals for a Planning-gain Supplement.”
The Government are proceeding towards a decision on a planning gain supplement with two aims in mind: first, that we are thoroughly satisfied that the planning gain supplement concept will work and that, if a decision to proceed is taken, what will be on offer will be well thought out and detailed as a proposal. As I said, there will be substantive legislation, a full regulatory impact assessment and many more opportunities to debate and to scrutinise such a plan outside and inside Parliament.