Planning Bill

moved Amendment No. 17B: 17B: Clause 5, page 3, line 13, at end insert— ““(3A) Before designating a statement as a national policy statement for the purposes of this Act the Secretary of State must be satisfied that (taken as a whole) the policies in the statement contribute to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change and to the achievement of sustainable development. (3B) A statement designated under subsection (1) must contain a statement to the effect that it is the Secretary of State’s view that the requirement of subsection (3A) is satisfied.”” The right reverend Prelate said: My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendments Nos. 29A and 51A, but not to Amendments Nos. 104A and 105A, which I shall not move. The amendments I shall speak to are concerned with climate change. I thank the Minister for her willingness to respond to concerns expressed in Committee about including a duty to consider climate change within the planning process at local, regional and national levels. She has been extremely sympathetic and accommodating. I also thank her for responding positively by placing a climate change duty within the regional spatial strategies—that will be done in a government amendment. It will strengthen the Bill and ensure that there is a duty in the local and regional planning process to contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. I also thank the Minister for her amendments to Clauses 5 and 10. They include climate change within the drafting of national policy statements and as part of the duty of the Secretary of State. However, I am still concerned that these amendments do not go far enough and leave the Government’s carbon strategy to achieve an 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2050 very vulnerable. In the Government’s amendment to Clause 5, the national policy statement must take, "““account of Government policy relating to the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change””." In the Government’s amendment to Clause 10, the Secretary of State is called to, "““have regard to the desirability of … mitigating, and adapting to, climate change””." By contrast, the regional spatial strategies and local planning documents must not just have regard to or take account of but must contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. In the government’s amendments, the NPSs and the Secretary of State are called upon simply to have climate change in mind. There is no requirement upon them to contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. I imagine the Minister assumes in good faith that in practice that will be more rigorous than the language of the Bill implies. My concern is for future Administrations, who will be called on to operate the legislation in 2010, 2020 and 2030. The Government have clearly understood the need to place a clear duty on the process locally and regionally, so the question is: why not nationally? At a national level, all we have is the provision ““to take account””, ““to have regard”” ““to have in mind””, not ““contribute””, which is the responsibility laid on people locally and regionally. As we know, the national policy statements offer the framework for the development of national infrastructure and for decision-making by the Infrastructure Planning Commission. As we move towards a low-carbon economy, we need to transform the planning process. Many national infrastructure projects will make a significant impact on our carbon emissions. That is why we require decisions for the development of the national infrastructure to ““contribute”” to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change. The Minister may say that through the range of the NPSs, through the assurance of sustainability, which is in the Bill, and through the Government’s Climate Change Bill, the Government will be able to maintain their strategy towards a low carbon economy, so that what you lose on one development, you gain on another in reducing emissions. But where is the mechanism that allows us to measure that, that enables us to hold them accountable? My fear is that, without a mechanism and an explicit duty in the national policy statement and on the Secretary of State, we will fail to achieve the Government's target of 80 per cent reduction by 2050. As we are giving so much authority to the Infrastructure Planning Commission, we need to send an unequivocal message from the Secretary of State and from the national policy statement to the IPC industry that we simply cannot accept construction that ignores our responsibility to reduce carbon emissions. We must lay on the NPS and the Secretary of State a duty not just to ““bear in mind””, not just to ““take account”” but to ““contribute”” to mitigating and adapting to climate change. That is why the amendments are important. I beg to move.