Planning Bill

National policy statements set out the criteria on which decisions are made. The criteria are based on evidence, intelligence and foresight and are subject to public scrutiny and parliamentary process. On that basis, I suggest that it is difficult for a politically driven judgment to be made, because so much will have been settled in policy. However, if for the reasons that we have discussed the NPS has to be changed to reflect changing technologies, forecasts or whatever, and that requires not a third runway but another option, clearly that process would require public consultation. I plough on. To return to the noble Baroness’s amendment, if the Secretary of State thinks that the proposed amendment does not materially affect the policy as set out in the national policy statement, subsection (5) of Clause 6 disapplies the requirement for the sustainability appraisal, consultation and publicity. That is the converse of the statement that I have just made. The noble Baroness’s amendment would require the Secretary of State to lay an order designating the proposed amendment as not materially affecting the policy. That would bring the order within the parliamentary procedure for statutory instruments. Such a safeguard is not proportionate, because some revisions to NPSs—the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, pointed this out—may simply reflect smaller administrative changes. Requiring a parliamentary process in those circumstances would not be appropriate. I assure the Committee that any material policy change will be subject to the full procedure. Given my assurance that I will write to noble Lords and pursue some of the questions that they have raised about the change of circumstances and public consultation on the changes, I hope that the noble Lord will be able to withdraw his amendment.