Clause 1
Planning and Energy Bill
9:15 am
Caroline Flint (Minister of State (Housing), Department for Communities and Local Government; Don Valley, Labour)
This is the first time that I have been before you in Committee, Mr. Atkinson, and I look forward to future encounters.
In the brief span that I have been the Minister with responsibility for housing and planning, I am pleased to have had an opportunity to engage constructively and positively with the hon. Member for Sevenoaks. My hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test has also been party to some of our discussions on the revised Bill. Part of our discussion has been about how we can use the Bill to reinforce the direction of the planning guidance that is already available, which requests and requires local authorities to consider how they can reduce carbon emissions. To that end, we have sought to find a way forward that is positive on all counts through amendments to the Bill as outlined by the hon. Gentleman.
We are all agreed that we have to do a lot more in Government, in local authorities and as individuals to change the balance of how emissions affect our climate. In doing so, hopefully we can offer to future generations not only a cleaner and greener Britain, but a cleaner and greener planet on which to live.
I fully support the intentions behind the Bill. I know that on Second Reading my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary said that we were not initially convinced that the Bill was necessary, but I recognise the positives that can be taken from placing such a power in primary legislation. In particular, it will reassure local authorities that they can go further, faster than through building regulations and within a national framework. It will mean that there is no place to hide for local authorities who do not want to take up this agenda, a point that has been part of our recent discussions. It will enable us to underline everyone’s commitment to using local energy, including on-site and near-site green energy, in new developments. Although this might not be a realistic outcome, it could also protect against the possibility of there being no planning policy because if planning policy is cancelled, for whatever reason, the Bill will remain. Those are four examples of where the Bill reinforces our current guidance and targets in this area.