Clause 45
Planning Bill
1:00 pm
John Healey (Minister of State (Local Government), Department for Communities and Local Government; Wentworth, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman is right to probe that area, to be concerned about standards and propriety and to want to be sure that the commission’s process for giving advice is as clear and open as possible. I argue, however, that it is a good thing that it will be the commission giving advice about the process to potential applicants because its members will be experts on the application process for major infrastructure projects.
It is obviously of equal importance that any contact and discussion between the commission and potential applicants does not prejudice the decision-making process in any way, that it is seen not to do so and is accepted as not doing so. That is the purpose of the regulation-making power covering the commission’s role in giving advice, particularly with regard to the disclosure of that advice more widely and to the public.
By way of practical example, the regulations could require minutes of the commission’s meetings or the advice that it will give to potential applicants to be made available to all parties. The commission will, of course, be subject to freedom of information legislation and to the powers of the ombudsman over questions of administration.
I think that the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst will accept that there is rightly further work to do on the nature of appropriate advice, that it is probably better not to put it in primary legislation and that the regulation-making power is important. I hope that he will accept that that will help to ensure that it is clear to everyone that the commission acts impartially, openly, with complete propriety and that it will be seen to do so.
Given that the provision is underpinned by a commitment to make the process as transparent and unquestionably proper as possible, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will be willing on the basis of that reassurance to wait until the details of the regulations are specified. In preparing those regulations, we will discuss and consult widely because that is the way that we are most likely to get a framework of regulations that meets his concerns and can command the confidence of those who want to see the commission acting properly.