Greater London Authority Bill

If any of us thought that the Mayor understood that, we would not oppose this Bill. We note that the Bill cedes the power to the Mayor to take final decisions on strategic planning applications. The Government have done away with the roles of the planning inspectorate and the Secretary of State. We have been assured that the Minister will publish the draft statutory instrument setting out the details of the Mayor’s new powers over planning at about the time when the Committee proceedings start. As that statutory instrument appears to be changing day by day, we hope that it will be available at the beginning of the Committee stage, which is yet another reason why we believe that the Committee should take evidence. On the basis of what we know so far, there are still many objections to the Mayor having that power, many of which have been voiced by my hon. Friends. We recognise that the Mayor already has the right of refusal. Indeed, he has called in 54 applications from my borough, Bromley, of which he has commented on only a few. However, these new plans give the Mayor the right to call in anything of ““strategic importance””. It is crucial that ““strategic”” be technically and closely defined, because one person’s simple plan can be strategic to somebody else. In February 2006, in response to the ODPM’s original consultation paper, the Mayor identified some 25 schemes where he might have used the power to take over an application, suggesting that perhaps five schemes a year would come under his new power, and the Minister acknowledged that. The statutory instrument needs to make absolutely clear the criteria that will give him precisely that ability—no more, no less; otherwise the capacity for mischief and capriciousness is infinite. The proposal also gives the Mayor power over negotiating section 106 agreements, which are often the only direct benefit to a community from new building: a doctor’s surgery, roads, schools or shops—the infrastructure needed to ensure that a development will be sustainable. Give that power to the Mayor, and the benefit could be used to finance one of his pet projects in another borough entirely, leaving local people without any gain from the new development. I hope that the statutory instrument will make it clear to the Mayor that boroughs can keep the section 106 money. The SI must also make it clear that, as the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey) said, the Mayor must be transparent and open in any decision on planning applications. During the planning process in the boroughs, objectors have the right to voice their objections. They should have equal rights in front of the Mayor. I understand that he is reluctant to listen to them, possibly on the grounds that he should be spending his time ensuring that the things for which he is currently responsible are working properly, such as transport, the Olympics and tackling crime—or perhaps he wants to spend more time developing London’s foreign policy, with further visits to Venezuela and Cuba. The Mayor’s procedure when using his current powers does not fill anyone with confidence. In 2002, it was summarised in the High Court thus:"““The meetings are held in private. The public and assembly members have no legal right to attend and the Mayor chooses to exclude them. Agenda papers are not published beforehand but after the meetings have taken place, copies of officer reports to the Mayor and the Mayor’s decision letters to the boroughs are published on the planning decisions page of the authority’s website.””" The chief planning officer of Harrow said:"““I can still see no valid justification as to why advice to the Mayor on planning matters and his planning meetings are not subject to the same requirements for public access to information as for all other local authorities. This point was the subject of representations when the provisions were going through Parliament and no satisfactory justification was made then or since.””"