Planning Bill

moved Amendment No. 17: 17: Schedule 1, page 140, line 1, leave out ““42(2)”” and insert ““(Guidance about pre-application procedure)”” The noble Lord said: My Lords, I wish to speak to government Amendments Nos. 17, 70, 72, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82 and 83. We had a full discussion of the provisions for pre-application in Part 5 in Committee and we have given considerable thought to the debate we had on that day. As we set out then, the Government believe strongly that the promoters of major infrastructure projects should carry out the pre-application consultation on those projects. We are trying to initiate a proper dialogue between the promoter and the local community. We believe that the duties must therefore bear on the promoters and that they must take direct responsibility for meeting them. However, we were struck by what the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, said about the importance of the guidance that the Government will issue on pre-application consultation. We thought she put it particularly well when she said: "““What the Government have to say about encouraging genuine consultation is very important in addition to the words in the Bill””.—[Official Report, 16/10/08; col. 871.]" We were also struck by the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, about the importance of making sure that promoters are under a clear obligation to spell out what responses they have had and what account they have taken of them, so that we can be assured that no corners have been cut. As my noble friend Lady Andrews said in that debate, we believe that the provisions of Chapter 2 of Part 5 represent a robust set of requirements. Promoters must consult local authorities on how to engage with people living in the vicinity of the land. They must have regard to the guidance on different points issued by the Secretary of State and the IPC. They must take account of the responses to consultation and produce a consultation report. Above all, the IPC must be satisfied that the requirements of the chapter have been complied with before it can accept an application. However, having listened to the debate and reflected on it, we think that the requirements could be clarified and strengthened, and the amendments that we have tabled seek to achieve that. First, we have sought to clarify and strengthen the provisions for guidance across the chapter. Amendments Nos. 72 and 80 remove the various provisions in Clauses 42 and 47 that allow the Secretary of State and the IPC to give guidance at specific points in the process. I recognise that those are too piecemeal and, aside from being difficult to follow, perhaps they do not send quite the right message. Amendment No. 81 would therefore replace those provisions with a much clearer new clause that sets out unambiguously that the Secretary of State and the IPC may give guidance on how any of the pre-application requirements of the chapter should be complied with. Crucially, it also requires that the promoter must have regard to that in the guidance. That makes it much clearer where guidance can be given and by whom, and extends the scope for guidance on the part of both the Secretary of State and the IPC across the chapter. Noble Lords may be concerned that this raises a potential for conflict between two sets of guidance. I place on record that we expect the two sets of guidance to be fundamentally different. The Secretary of State will provide high-level strategic guidance on how pre-application consultation should be carried out and how communities should be engaged with. We expect that guidance from the IPC will be based on, and will take account of, that and will focus on the detail of how it expects promoters to apply that in practice. Secondly, we have sought to strengthen the requirement on promoters to spell out what responses they have had and what account they have taken of them. Amendment No. 70 to Clause 37 strengthens the requirement for promoters to produce a consultation report, extending the report to cover consultation and publicity under Clauses 42, 47 and 48. The report must give details of any relevant responses and the account taken of them. We will make sure that the consultation report is thorough and makes clear how responses to consultation and publicity have been addressed by promoters. The new requirements are reinforced by Amendments Nos. 82 and 83 to Clause 54. They make clear that when the IPC has decided whether the promoter has complied with the requirements for pre-application consultation in Part 5, it must have regard to the consultation report, any adequacy of consultation representation by the local authority and the extent to which guidance issued by the IPC and the Secretary of State has been complied with. Amendments Nos. 17, 76 and 77 are consequential. Amendment No. 78 to Clause 47 clarifies how the promoter’s statement of community consultation relates to the proposed application, bringing the drafting into line with the wording used in Clauses 37, 42 and 48. Taken together, the amendments both strengthen the requirements for pre-application consultation and make clearer how they are to be enforced. The Secretary of State and the IPC will be able to provide guidance on any aspect of the pre-application procedure. Promoters must have regard to that, and the IPC must take account of whether the promoter has done so when deciding if it can accept the application. Moreover, the amendments expand the consultation report and explicitly bring it within the scope of the IPC’s decision on whether an application can be accepted. The amendments go a significant way to addressing the concerns expressed by noble Lords in Committee, and I hope that noble Lords are happy to support them. I shall speak to Amendment No. 79, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, and the noble Lord, Lord Greaves. It seeks to ensure that promoters must consult local authorities on how to undertake consultation with people living in the vicinity of the land. I confirm that that is the effect of the Bill. Subsection (1) requires promoters to draw up a statement describing how they propose to consult the local community. Subsection (2) requires promoters to consult the relevant local authority about what should be in the statement. That has the same effect as the amendment; they are effectively consulting on how consultation should be undertaken. I hope that reassures the noble Baroness and that she will be prepared to withdraw the amendment. I beg to move.