Lord Hunt of Kings Heath:

Moved by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath

356A: After Clause 107, insert the following new Clause—“Pre-consolidation amendments of planning legislation(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make such amendments and modifications of the Acts relating to planning as in the Secretary of State’s opinion facilitate, or are otherwise desirable in connection with, the consolidation of the whole or a substantial part of the Acts relating to planning.(2) The Acts relating to planning are—(a) the Commons Act 1899;(b) the Public Health Act 1936;(c) the Agricultural Act 1947;(d) the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953;(e) the Land Compensation Act 1961;(f) Part 4 of the Public Health Act 1961;(g) the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965;(h) the Forestry Act 1967;(i) the Post Office Act 1969;(j) the Land Compensation Act 1973;(k) the Inner Urban Areas Act 1978;(l) the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979;(m) Parts 9 to 18 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980;(n) the Highways Act 1980;(o) the New Towns Act 1981;(p) the Acquisition of Land Act 1981;(q) Part 2 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982; (r) the Building Act 1984;(s) Part 5 of the Airports Act 1986;(t) the Town and Country Planning Act 1990;(u) the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990;(v) the Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990;(w) the Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990;(x) Parts 1, 3 and 5 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991;(y) the Transport and Works Act 1992;(z) sections 67 to 69 and 96 of, and Schedules 13 and 14 to, the Environment Act 1995(z1) Part 7 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999;(z2) the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000;(z3) sections 118 and 397 of, and Schedule 4 to, the Communications Act 2003;(z4) the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004;(z5) the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006;(z6) the Commons Act 2006;(z7) the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008;(z8) the Planning Act 2008;(z9) Parts 6 and 9, and sections 202 to 205, of the Localism Act 2011;(z10) the Mobile Homes Act 2013;(z11) the Infrastructure Act 2015;(z12) Parts 6 to 8 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016;(z13) the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017;(z14) the Environment Act 2021;(z15) the Building Safety Act 2022;(z16) the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2023;(z17) Parts 3 to 11 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023;(z18) this Act;(z19) any other provision of an Act relating to planning, whenever passed.(3) For the purposes of this section, “amend” includes repeal (and similar terms are to be read accordingly).(4) Regulations made under this section do not come into force unless an Act is passed consolidating the whole or a substantial part of the Acts relating to planning.(5) If such an Act is passed, any regulations made under this section come into force immediately before the Act comes into force.(6) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.(7) A statutory instrument containing (whether alone or with other provision) regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the statutory instrument containing them has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”Member’s explanatory statementThis new clause enables pre-consolidation amendments to be made to planning legislation, in anticipation of a future Consolidation Bill. It is intended to probe the desirability and feasibility of consolidation of planning legislation.

My Lords, we are nearly at the finish. All I want to do here is make a plea to my noble friends the Ministers to consider the benefit of consolidated Acts in relation to planning law. As I have discovered in my imperfect dip into planning law for the Bill, it is very complex; it is a labyrinth of Acts, and they overlap and cross-refer. They have been amended by layers of primary and secondary legislation, and the framework has become very complex. The Bill is all about growth, and I have every sympathy for people that have to operate in the field.

As Ministers, we all acknowledge that consolidated legislation is a good thing, and then we all fail to bring any consolidated legislation. I am well aware that it is my second mea culpa of the week. If we want to sort out our planning system, consolidated legislation would be a very good thing to do. It does not really involve much parliamentary time. It involves the department in work and parliamentary counsel, but the Law Commission is usually able to help. To achieve internal consistency, you need to have pre-consolidation amendments, and that is what my Amendment would also allow for.

My noble friends have shown huge stamina in getting through Committee. They have responded sympathetically to many of the constructive amendments put forward. I just hope they might be able to say that they will consider this. I beg to move.

My Lords, I am concerned about this Amendment, in particular subsection (3) of the proposed new Clause, because it talks about repealing primary legislation. I understand what the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is getting at in trying to make legislation straightforward. That is why we have all these schedules to legislation nowadays, to try to bring that about. I fear, and I have heard on the grapevine, that the noble Lord has been advised by somebody who is now advising somebody very important in the Government and who has also made subsequent comments about how nature is getting in the way of development. While I am conscious of the positive intentions that the noble Lord seeks to achieve through the amendment, I am just flagging my concern.

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for bringing forward Amendment 356A for the consideration of the Committee today. The proposed new Clause would allow for pre-consolidation amendments to be made to planning legislation in anticipation of a full future consolidation Bill. Its purpose, as I understand it, is to probe the desirability and feasibility of consolidating the extensive and at times unwieldy body of planning law. The noble Lord is absolutely right to raise the matter.

It comes at a timely moment. We hear that, hot on the heels of the first planning Bill, the Government may now be contemplating a second. As we have said from this Dispatch Box on a number of occasions, if the Government had proceeded to commence either in full or even in part the schedules and clauses already contained within the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act, we might well have avoided the need for yet another Bill in the first place.

That brings me to the specific questions for the Minister. Can she confirm whether there is any truth in the strong rumours circulating that a new planning Bill is indeed on its way? If so, will such a Bill aim to consolidate the many changes that have been made right across the breadth of planning law in recent years? Do the Government accept that consolidation is both needed and desirable, not least to provide clarity and certainty to practitioners, local authorities and communities alike? Finally, can the Minister tell us whether the Government have considered what such a consolidation process might look like and under what timescale it might realistically be delivered? I look forward to the Minister’s reply.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Hunt for Amendment 356A and for highlighting the merits of consolidating our planning legislation. As someone who has been on the sticky end of it for a number of years, I can absolutely see his point.

My noble friend is not the first to consider this. Indeed, the existing legislative framework provides the Government with sufficient powers to consolidate the planning legislation at an appropriate time. Specifically, as the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, said, Section 132 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act provides the Secretary of State with broad and flexible powers to make regulations that amend, repeal or otherwise modify a wide range of planning-related statutes.

While we have no immediate plans to consolidate planning legislation in England, we will keep this under review, as we recognise that consolidating planning legislation could offer some benefits. Since the enactment of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the legislative framework has undergone numerous amendments, and consolidation may help to streamline and simplify the system. However, a comprehensive consolidation needs to be weighed against the risks of uncertainty and disruption, particularly at a time when the Government are prioritising targeted planning reform to drive economic growth.

Any move towards consolidation would also require substantial resources, so we would need to be confident that it has clear benefits. At this stage, we believe that targeted reform is the best way forward, but we are live to the possibilities that consolidation offers. I hope that my noble friend and other Peers with an interest in planning will continue to work with us. I therefore hope that my noble friend will feel able to withdraw his amendment.

I am very grateful to my noble friend. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, first, that the person to whom she referred has not in fact advised me on this Amendment. Secondly, she should not fear the amendment; I realise that it is a Henry VIII provision, but all it would allow us to do is have pre-consolidation amendments. We could not use it, for instance, to create a special pathway for nuclear developments in the way that the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, suggested. I hope I can reassure her on that.

I am grateful to my noble friend the Minister. Clearly, she and her department recognise that, for people in the field, this can be very complex, so everything we can do to make it as straightforward as possible is to be desired. Having said that, I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Amendment 356A withdrawn.

Clauses 108 and 109 agreed.

Clause 110: Commencement and transitional provision

Amendments 357 and 358 not moved.