Clause 5
Planning Bill
10:00 am
John Healey (Minister of State (Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Wentworth, Labour)
I shall deal with the points raised and try to be as clear and firm as I can about our commitments, how important parliamentary scrutiny is and how the Government will ensure that they play their part in that process. Such commitments are rather unusual for Ministers to make at this point in a piece of legislation.
It is hard to anticipate precisely the number of national policy statements, but the annexe to the document published on November 27 identifies those that are likely to be made. The short answer to the question of the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy about how many national policy statements we expect is up to or around a dozen.
The hon. Gentleman was right to say that public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny are essential, and I entirely subscribe to that general approach. The Bill’s provisions and the Government’s commitments underline that. Both those things are essential, and they will be central to the development and, ultimately, the designation of national policy statements.
I am glad that my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe said that the legislation is moving us in the right direction. I understand his desire for a firm Government commitment to the role of Parliament, and we will respond to that as far as possible as we consider the Bill. However, I should clarify one point, not to do with scrutiny, but with what underpins some of his arguments in favour of new clause 6. A national policy statement containing location-specific elements would not pre-empt an IPC decision. Like any other national policy statement, it would provide the principal framework within which the IPC would consider any applications, but there are clearly some areas, sectors or, to use the terms in the Bill, fields in which it will be sensible to identify suitable locations for certain major infrastructure developments. It will likewise be sensible to rule out other locations.
I suspect that we will return to the question of whether including location-specific elements in national policy statements is reasonable and right, but they will be an essential part of some national policy statements. When they are included, an individual application will nevertheless need to be considered in detail, which is what the IPC is for. It will need to examine applications in detail and, clearly, it will have the power to reject applications as well as to approve them. Like any other decision-taking body, it should be expected to do the former in certain circumstances.