Clause 12
Planning Bill
3:30 pm
Bob Neill (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Bromley and Chislehurst, Conservative)
The scheme proposed is fairly straightforward. We seek to extend the time period for bringing a claim by way of judicial review from six to 12 weeks. I touched on some of the reasons involved in relation to the earlier amendments on publicity, but it is perhaps just as cogent here.
The factual and legal issues for those instigating a judicial review are likely to be complex. The scale of what is involved is likely to be substantial. In terms of fairness and a sort of equality of arms argument, a period of 12 rather than six weeks is appropriate, just and proportionate and likely to be advantageous at the end of the day in making sure that further complaint is less justifiable. We hope that the Minister will look on that with favour. A 12-week period for something as important as national policy statements on nuclear power, airports and so on does not seem at all unreasonable. It is not likely to create a significant delay in the overall scheme of things with major capital projects of that kind.
That is what that this set of amendments seeks to do. The first is amendment No. 195, but its provisions are replicated throughout the group. Amendment No. 248, which again is largely replicated elsewhere, deals with the simple point that the time for bringing a challenge should run from the date of publication of the Secretary of State’s decision rather than from the date that it is signed or takes effect. It is a simple reality that sometimes there is a delay between an Executive decision and publication. The amendment provides protection for the individual or the group, because they will not know about the decision until it is published. There have been complaints in other contexts where there is a delay in publication of a decision. I am sure that that is not what is intended here, but things sometimes go awry.
The amendments would ensure that those who have to consider whether to bring a challenge have 12 weeks from the time that they first knew about the decision. That seems only just and there are consequential amendments on that. Amendment No. 249 makes equivalent changes so that the clause would read:
“the Secretary of State’s compliance...is published”.
Publication triggers the knowledge to enable people to consider whether they want to bring a review or not.