Planning Bill

I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Judd for enabling us to have this debate. This is an important clause and he has raised very important issues. As usual, I agree with much of what he has said; I do not agree with his amendment but I agree with the issues that he has raised, which are served by the Bill and by the clause. Let me explain why and take on board the questions that have been raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and the noble Lord, Lord Cameron. The concern that has been expressed, particularly by my noble friend Lord Judd, is that given their remit to promote economic development, regional development agencies will naturally tend to focus on economic issues rather than promote sustainable development and housing supply. The motive behind trying to bring together our intention to replace regional economic and regional spatial strategies with a single regional strategy was precisely to make sure that we have in the future sufficient agencies in our regions to take advantage of every economic opportunity and, in the present economic conditions, to be sure that they are as robust and as focused on doing what they can as is possible. We have debated this in the context of the Bill as a whole and we cannot have a strong economy without having a sustainable economy. Regional development agencies have concentrated on economic issues in the past—that has been their raison d’être—but they will not be able to develop the single strategy with its purpose as we want it unless they address issues of sustainable development and housing supply. As to how planning responsibilities might be organised in the future, the regional development agency, if it were to be the planning agency, would have to operate the full range of planning legislation. That means sustainable planning legislation, which is at the very heart of our planning arrangements. PPS1, as I have quoted many times in this Chamber, has the responsibility for sustainable development. It is therefore tempting, but quite problematic, to pose these ideas as oppositional. The regional development agencies have to address issues of sustainability and, if they become responsible for planning in some shape or form, they will have to take on issues to do with sustainable development through the planning apparatus.