Planning Bill

Thank you. The amendment adds to the provision: "““The Commission must give notice in writing to each of the following””," that ““the following”” includes, "““both a county and a district council””," in a two-tier area. The Bill states: "““each authority which, in relation to the application, is a relevant local authority within the meaning given by section 99(5)””." That is a slightly odd cross-reference, because Clause 99(5) is in a different chapter of the Bill, but it states: "““In subsection (1) ‘relevant local authority’ means a local authority within subsection (6) or (7)””." Subsection (8) states: "““In subsections (5) to (7) ““local authority”” means—""(a) a county council, or district council, in England””." It then lists other authorities, such as a London borough, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and councils in Wales and Scotland, which is all very clear. I submit that the phrase, "““ a county council, or district council, in England””," is ambiguous and should be looked at. The word ““or”” gives rise to the question of whether someone can choose whether they wish to consult a county or a district council. I do not want to go into the realms of Boolean logic which, in this internet age, we have all had to learn to understand, but ““or”” usually has a different meaning to ““and””. Perhaps our amendment should seek simply to remove ““or”” and insert ““and””, although it would have exactly the same effect. Its purpose is to probe the meaning of the clause and to ask the Government whether they are prepared to make this matter clearer in legislation. This phrase appears in at least one other place in the Bill, perhaps more, and it is not clear what, "““a county council, or district council, in England””," means. I am not sure why the commas are there. There was a time when commas never appeared in legislation. They have been put in to clarify the legislation and to make it easier to read. We are always not told not to change the meaning, but the presence of those commas implies that there is a pause and emphasises that it is an alternative. It does not mean a county council and a district council, and someone will decide in any application whether the county or the district is consulted and asked to produce the local impact report. I think the Minister has understood the point that I am making. It should be both, because the county council still has a residual strategic planning function, and specific planning functions in relation for example to minerals, and the district council is the main development control authority. Clearly they should both be consulted in any particular case. Unitary authorities can be either districts or counties. The Isle of Wight is a unitary county, and there are lots of unitary districts. There is no problem with a unitary authority, because it is obvious whether it is a district or a county. The problem is in two-tier areas, so I would be grateful for the Minister’s confirmation that there is no intention to exclude either of them. I beg to move.