Clause 40
Planning Bill
9:15 am
Elfyn Llwyd (Parliamentary Leader; Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Plaid Cymru)
I beg to move amendment No. 62, in clause 40, page 19, line 35, leave out ‘28’ and insert ‘56’.
This is a fairly straightforward amendment, which does not need much explanation. The timetable for consultation is clearly set out in the clause. Subsection (2) states:
“A deadline notified under subsection (1) must not be earlier than the end of the period of 28 days that begins with the day after the day on which the person receives the consultation documents.”
Knowing local government as I do, 28 days is not exactly a lifetime, and this is very much a probing amendment to get the Minister to reassure the Committee that normally we will be looking at a longer period than that. I know it is difficult for him to speculate on the matter, but my concern is that local government might not be up to speed. Local authorities are often overworked and for all I know the measure may mean a lot of extra work for them. I have suggested 56 days, although it could have been longer or a figure in the middle. I simply want to know what the Minister foresees will be the median time when the notices will be issued.
Jacqui Lait (Shadow Minister, Communities and Local Government; Beckenham, Conservative)
I support the need to probe the Minister on the matter. The hon. Gentleman makes a point about the speed at which local government can move, but I am conscious that there are people for whom a deadline of 28 days could be exceedingly difficult. It is not beyond the wit of man or woman to work out that should it be a busy time on the farm—because so many of these infrastructure projects are likely to be on farming land—farmers will have other things that they need to do rather than responding to an application that would affect them.
An elderly person whose land was affected could, as we know from our constituency work, take a lot longer than the time specified to respond. I have noticed personally that as people get older it takes them a long time to consider a matter and get their heads around its implications before they can take action by obtaining legal or other professional advice. I am generally supportive of an extension on the grounds that we want to ensure that the pre-application process is as effective as possible—a point I have made before—and we are coming to amendments that try to make it more effective. However, if the process is constrained too tightly its effectiveness might be lessened and there might be more cause for complaint, which could be legal or in the form of a complaint at the inquiry. That would lead to an inevitable delay, and the purpose of the Bill is to reduce those delays. If the Minister could reassure us of his intentions on the provision, I should be happy not to press the amendment, as, I am sure, would the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy.
Dan Rogerson (Shadow Minister (Arts, Culture and Heritage), Culture, Media & Sport; North Cornwall, Liberal Democrat)
I join hon. Members in raising the issue of time constraints. As the hon. Lady has just said, we are dealing with well-resourced and well-funded companies or public bodies that are pursuing development and have recourse to legal and planning advice, and although we might not want to talk in confrontational terms they are up against local people and individuals who do not have such advice. To expect those local people to fall in line with a tight time scale of 28 days is asking a great deal.
Factors such as periods of illness or the pre-consultation stage happening during the height of the holiday season, when people could be away for two or three weeks, could affect someone’s ability to respond. If the whole point of the pre-consultation stage is to ensure fairness, openness and that everyone has a chance to have their say before moving into the formal application, we ought to allow greater time to get it right.
Reflecting on the evidence that we received before we began our clause-by-clause deliberations, hon. Members will remember that the gentlemen who represented National Grid and power transmission said that for them the key was to know when an application would be decided. They need to know the timetable so that they have some sense of hope that the application would be resolved at some point. It does not necessarily have to be done in five or nine months or whatever, so we do not have to focus too much on driving forward the time scale; the important thing is that people are aware that there is a time scale and will work to it. With that in mind, I hope that the Minister will consider this and future amendments that address the time scale and its impact on people who have to live with the development for a long time, and ensure that they can play a full part in the pre-application consultation.
John Healey (Minister of State (Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Wentworth, Labour)
Clearly, consultees need sufficient time to respond to a promoter’s consultation, but it is equally important that there should be an expectation and requirement that they give the advice or information that a promoter needs to develop their proposals in a timely manner. It could be that someone preparing an application would be dependent upon a statutory consultee, such as a local authority, for specific information, so the principle of having a specific time period to help concentrate the mind and ensure that happens is important. For those who commented on the White Paper, the belief that a time limit was important was almost universal.
For promoters and many statutory consultees, the formal pre-application consultation is unlikely to be either the start or end of involvement in the process. In most cases, the promoter is likely to have been in touch to consult them beforehand and will continue to do so during the process. After the pre-application consultation period, any statutory consultee is likely to continue to be involved in the process of considering an application.
To be clear, the 28 day period is the statutory minimum, and I think that the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy understands that point well. It is obvious to all members of the Committee that big infrastructure projects will be more complex than other projects, and there may be a strong case in such circumstances for a longer pre-application consultation period. In such cases, the promoter may decide that it is appropriate and in their interests as well.
Of course, the commission has the power to give guidance about how to comply with the consultation, and may decide in specific circumstances to advise a longer consultation period if it believes that would be helpful. Obviously, a promoter would want to take that into account, not least because the commission will decide whether an application is fit for consideration, so any advice the commission may give will be telling at that point.
Elfyn Llwyd (Parliamentary Leader; Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Plaid Cymru)
As always, the Minister has been helpful, and I am sure that what he said has been noted. However, if an individual, for whatever reason, had been absent for a good part of the 28 days, would they be able to apply to the IPC or to someone, to say, “Look, due to extenuating circumstances I have not been able to take advice. I have not been able to look at this properly. Can I, therefore, apply now for an extension of the period within which to respond”?
John Healey (Minister of State (Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Wentworth, Labour)
Anyone in such broad potential circumstances might not be in a position to argue, in their single case, for an extension or alteration of what was set out as an appropriate time period for the pre-application consultation. However, they would be able to make a representation, if not to the promoter during the pre-application process, directly to the commission, as part of the process that it will undertake in its consideration of any application, which we will look at shortly.
Elfyn Llwyd (Parliamentary Leader; Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, Plaid Cymru)
The Minister has been helpful. I said that the amendment was of a probing nature. Therefore, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.