Localism Bill

My Lords, I listened with great care to the remarks of my noble friend Lady Andrews, who is no longer in her place, because I have an interest— I think that the appropriate adjective would be an historic interest—in the subject that she raised, the position of English Heritage. I served as a commissioner of English Heritage for four years, having been appointed by the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, and removed by Mr Nicholas Ridley in due course, no doubt for good reasons. My noble friend certainly has a point about not encumbering some organisations with heavy statutory responsibilities. On the other hand, some agencies need to be involved from the outset in the kind of strategic approach adumbrated in the Bill, and in rather broader terms in the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Greaves. I have in mind, for example, the Highways Agency, which in my experience is not one of the more co-operative government agencies when it comes to its dealings with local government, or the Environment Agency or the Homes and Communities Agency. They have a better track record but, as the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, pointed out implicitly in his reference to environmental matters, they clearly have a key role to play in the development of a joint approach. I join in inviting the Minister, in replying, to indicate the kind of bodies, though not necessarily adumbrating all of them, that might be included in proposed new Section 33A(1)(c) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 under, "““prescribed or of a prescribed description””." It would be helpful to have an indication, though not necessarily on the face of the Bill, as obviously we may need to add or change the description over time. I also take on board the point about local enterprise partnerships made by the noble Lord, Lord Cotter, when speaking to his amendments. It is not clear to me that they have much power in any event, as presently constituted, but they should certainly be involved in consultations. Whether it is useful to have a duty to co-operate on bodies that may not have the power to do very much is perhaps arguable, but the point is worth exploring, and perhaps the Minister could enlarge a little on the role envisaged for local enterprise partnerships generally and in relation to the position under the Bill, if not today then as a matter for further consideration. I applaud the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for most of his amendments, which seem to open up the duty to co-operate in a constructive way. As a former chairman of the Local Government Association, I wish I could subscribe to the view that local authorities co-operate as a matter of course; it is not necessarily the case, as one or two noble Lords have mentioned. It is essential that there is something to make the duty to co-operate actually stick. I cited at Second Reading, I believe, the instance of the district council of Stevenage and its inability to secure land for housing because it is a very tightly constrained built-up authority from an adjoining authority. There was simply no way in which it could break through in the present situation. Where regional spatial strategies have gone, there is no mechanism to compel that degree of co-operation. The noble Lord, Lord McKenzie, may refer to a case closer to his heart and locality, and I am sure other noble Lords could equally cite examples of that kind. Of course, this is not simply a question of housing. Other issues require co-operation across boundaries that may not readily be secured. The question arises: how is development to be secured? What powers need to be vested in the Secretary of State or some other body to adjudicate where authorities may have had long discussions, with or without their other partners, and nevertheless failed to reach an agreement? It cannot simply be left to that. Amendment 147P, which the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, has introduced, may offer a way forward, provided that at the end of the day a decision can emerge from some source. Finally, I refer to the definition, again in Clause 95(1), of what constitutes a planning authority. I am not sure whether, for example, the new body in Greater Manchester—the Greater Manchester Combined Authority—would qualify in those terms as a planning authority. It might, but there may well be examples in future of authorities combining for some purposes, and it would be helpful if there were some flexibility to ensure that such bodies could be brought within the ambit of the clause. We should consider whether the clause needs to be redrafted at this stage or whether it can be left to new Clause 33A(1)(c), which refers to, "““a body, or other person, that is prescribed””—" in other words, that one deals with these on a case-by-case basis. That would be a suitable alternative. Nevertheless, new structures may emerge at the sub-regional level, to which the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, has referred. They may need a specific reference either in the Bill or subsequently. We need to acknowledge them, extend to them the duty to co-operate, and make it enforceable or in some way justiciable. I hope the Minister will take the sense that many noble Lords have spoken. The Bill is reasonable but it would be improved by most of the amendments that the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, and other noble Lords have tabled on the duty.