Clause 13
Housing and Regeneration Bill
12:15 pm
Iain Wright (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Communities and Local Government; Hartlepool, Labour)
I feel as if I am being unduly harsh on the hon. Gentleman today, and I do not mean to be, but I have to say that I was grateful to him for clarifying the amendment because I was at a loss as to what it meant. Largely because of that uncertainty, I do not think that the amendment adds any value to the clause; it would merely serve as the beginning of a list of things—we are back to the list principle that we so enjoyed on Thursday—that the Secretary of State would need to take into account when considering whether to exercise her designation powers under clause 13. We have had many discussions, which I have enjoyed, about the list principle. Placing in the Bill two matters that the Secretary of State would have to take into account before an area could be designated suggests the exclusion of other considerations.
In the context of the Secretary of State’s consideration of whether to designate an area, I would suggest, with the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, that a list is pointless. Each area will be set out in a designation order made by the Secretary of State and, in deciding to exercise that power, she will need to be satisfied that designating an area and conferring local planning authority powers on the agency is justified. The Secretary of State’s decision would be open to challenge in the courts, as well as being subject to parliamentary scrutiny. She would need to demonstrate that her decision to designate an area was reasonable.
In conclusion, the amendment is not necessary and adds nothing to the understanding of clause 13. I do apologise to the hon. Gentleman for that wording. I hope that the Committee is content with what I have said, and I invite the hon. Gentleman to withdraw amendment No. 98.