Clause 67
Planning Bill
3:00 pm
Dan Rogerson (Shadow Minister (Arts, Culture and Heritage), Culture, Media & Sport; North Cornwall, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 286, in clause 67, page 33, line 21, at end insert—
‘(3) The vote of each member of the panel in respect of each decision shall be recorded.’.
I am beginning to feel like a one-man show here. [Interruption.] I apologise; there have been some excellent responses from the Minister. The amendment relates to votes being taken within the panel when determining an application. That raises the possibility of different commissioners serving on a panel taking a different view with regard to an application that they are considering. They may have different areas of expertise and experience, and it is part of their role to use that experience to consider an application, to take into account the evidence before them and to reach a conclusion following discussion.
If it were to come to a vote, the amendment would require each vote on an application to be recorded. As commissioners may acquire a reputation in certain fields, with the implication that they hold certain opinions and views, were any trend to become obvious, it might be suggested that they were prejudging applications based on a certain point of view. To record the commissioners’ votes on each application would help transparency and make it more likely that those who are concerned about how an application has been handled would have the evidence, or contributory evidence, in order to call the judgment into question.
The amendment is simple. It would not damage the Bill or obstruct what the Government are trying to achieve in any way, but it would mean that people concerned about individual commissioners taking individual views would have the evidence in front of them. It may help the Government, because it would help to allay any fears by showing that there is no bias and that the commissioners are considering each individual application on its merits, with no trends developing at all. It could work both ways, but whichever way it works, I cannot see how it would be anything other than helpful, and I therefore hope that the Minister will consider taking it on board.