UK Parliament / Open data

Localism Bill

Debate on bills on Tuesday, 17 May 2011, in the House of Commons, led by Lord Stunell. The answering member was Baroness Keeley.

Localism Bill. Ways and means resolution resolved. Programme motion (No. 2) on proceedings on Report and Third reading agreed to on question. Report stage debate first day. New clause 12, discussed with new clauses 8, 10, 27 and 28, debated and agreed to. New clause 10 negatived on question. New clauses 13, 14, 16 and 17 agreed to on question. New clause 15, discussed with new clauses 2, 4 to 7, 11, 29 to 32, and 34 to 36, debated and agreed to on division (297 votes to 232). New clause 29 negatived on division (224 votes to 308). New clause 31 negatived on division (221 votes to 316). Some amendments made. Bill to be further considered tomorrow. [ Relevant documents: The Second Report from the Communities and Local Government Committee, Abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies: a planning vacuum?, HC 517; Written evidence submitted to the Communities and Local Government Committee on the General Power of Competence, HC 931; The Third Report from the Environmental Audit Committee, Sustainable Development in the Localism Bill, HC 799. ]

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

528 c194-312

Session

2010-12

Localism Bill. As amended in Public Bill Committee. Two volumes.
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Bills
House of Commons

Sustainable development in the Localism Bill. Environmental Audit Select Committee third report with formal minutes, evidence and appendices.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

The abolition of regional spatial strategies. Communities and Local Government Select Committee second report with formal minutes, evidence (HC 517 i-iv not printed separately) and appendices.
Monday, 28 February 2011
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

General power of competence. Written evidence 4 April 2011.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Lord Stunell | 528 c228-9 (Link to this contribution) The Localism Bill does what it says on the label. In Committee we tested and tweaked it, and today w...

Joan Walley | 528 c265 (Link to this contribution) This is a little like having the winding-up speeches before the debate has started, but, in anticipa...

Show all contributions (126)

Greg Clark | 528 c262-4 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's remarks. I know that as Chairman of the Communities and Local...

Clive Betts | 528 c262 (Link to this contribution) On the abolition of everything that is regional, which is clearly Government policy and has been for...

Greg Clark | 528 c264-5 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend anticipates the detail of the national policy planning framework, but at this stage a...

Henry Smith | 528 c264 (Link to this contribution) Will that sustainability—sustainability can, of course, include many different strains—include commu...

Greg Clark | 528 c254 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Speaker | 528 c230 (Link to this contribution) Division off. Question negatived.

Greg Clark | 528 c261 (Link to this contribution) It is a pleasure to be debating planning issues again. I am sorry that that is occasioning an exodus...

Speaker | 528 c254 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 2—Sustainable development

Greg Clark | 528 c265 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Lady's point, but I hope she accepts that we have stated clearly that we are v...

Alun Cairns | 528 c265 (Link to this contribution) I wish to return to the point that my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) made about pl...

Greg Clark | 528 c268 (Link to this contribution) Of course, Madam Deputy Speaker. I certainly intended no discourtesy to you or anyone else in the Ch...

Speaker | 528 c268 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before the Minister resumes, I clarify that he is not supposed to have his back continually t...

Annette Brooke | 528 c267-8 (Link to this contribution) On amendment 160, will the Minister clarify what will be the balance between residents and businesse...

Greg Clark | 528 c267 (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend's point. I will say a few words about that in moment, and I hope to give...

Greg Mulholland | 528 c266-7 (Link to this contribution) While my right hon. Friend's comments are amusing, does he understand the frustration of many of us,...

Greg Clark | 528 c266 (Link to this contribution) We are not quite in the dark. I hope that I have illuminated some of the dark, given what I have bee...

Joan Walley | 528 c266 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the Minister says, but would it not have been more appropriate if we had had that public...

Greg Clark | 528 c265-6 (Link to this contribution) I will resist the temptation to stray from the proposed changes before us. There are amendments that...

Bob Stewart | 528 c268 (Link to this contribution) Do the provisions of the Bill apply to urban and metropolitan open spaces in the same way as they do...

Greg Clark | 528 c268-9 (Link to this contribution) If residents so desire, the provisions of a neighbourhood plan can designate spaces that residents w...

Nigel Mills | 528 c269 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend gives many words of encouragement to those of us who have tabled amendments. Do...

Greg Clark | 528 c269 (Link to this contribution) I was going to come on to my hon. Friend's amendments, but since he raises the matter I will turn to...

Nigel Mills | 528 c269 (Link to this contribution) Will my right hon. Friend give way?

Greg Clark | 528 c269 (Link to this contribution) No, the hon. Lady has got it wrong. We are talking about neighbourhood planning, but of course a who...

Nick Raynsford | 528 c270-1 (Link to this contribution) The Minister implies that there is no change in policy as a result of new clause 15, but may I remin...

Greg Clark | 528 c269-70 (Link to this contribution) I will make some progress, and then perhaps my hon. Friend can come in again. I know that a lot of M...

Greg Clark | 528 c271 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman should be reassured that the measure is not a fundamental threat. Rather, i...

Simon Hughes | 528 c271-2 (Link to this contribution) I would like to press the Minister on his response to my amendment 369. I will make my point by way ...

Greg Clark | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) New clause 15 clarifies that it is reasonable for a planning authority to take such funds into accou...

Nick Raynsford | 528 c271 (Link to this contribution) The Minister will have to do better. He should consider whether he is being absolutely open with the...

Greg Clark | 528 c271 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman is disappointed that this is not the cunning plot that he sensed it might b...

Greg Clark | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) I give way to the Chairman of the Communities and Local Government Committee.

Greg Clark | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) I have given clear assurances at the Dispatch Box that this is not what the RTPI perhaps suspected o...

Heidi Alexander | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) Earlier in his remarks, the Minister was quick to quote the Royal Town Planning Institute on the pro...

Speaker | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) Order. Before the Minister replies, I want to say that this is a very important point, and I am allo...

Clive Betts | 528 c272 (Link to this contribution) I want to get down to practicalities. Given that these matters are now material considerations, is i...

George Hollingbery | 528 c274 (Link to this contribution) In my little local town of Bishop's Waltham, a supermarket is being built outside the local plan. Is...

Philip Davies | 528 c274 (Link to this contribution) My right hon. Friend will remember visiting my constituency to meet local residents who were fightin...

Greg Clark | 528 c274 (Link to this contribution) I know that my hon. Friend withdrew an amendment proposing to deprive developers or property owners ...

Greg Clark | 528 c274 (Link to this contribution) I will continue to make a bit of progress, then I will certainly give way to my hon. Friends. Takin...

Greg Clark | 528 c273-4 (Link to this contribution) I will explain, although I will shortly draw my remarks to a conclusion, as I know that other Member...

Stephen Gilbert | 528 c273 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the Minister for explaining the technical deficiencies in new clause 4 to me, and p...

Greg Clark | 528 c272-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has got the wrong end of the stick. It is not required that the planning applicat...

Jack Dromey | 528 c276-7 (Link to this contribution) With respect, I took many interventions in Committee, but now that the Minister has taken the best p...

David Lammy | 528 c275 (Link to this contribution) Will the Minister give way?

Jack Dromey | 528 c275-6 (Link to this contribution) I will speak to Opposition amendments 293 to 299, amendment 301 and new clauses 29 and 32; and I sha...

Greg Clark | 528 c275 (Link to this contribution) I will not give way, because I want to conclude my remarks. We have only 50 minutes left, and a lot ...

Joan Ruddock | 528 c275 (Link to this contribution) When the Minister undertakes that review and looks into the issue, will he consider the fact that th...

Greg Clark | 528 c274-5 (Link to this contribution) The combination of neighbourhood plans and local plans in the new system will be much more robust th...

Simon Hughes | 528 c286 (Link to this contribution) I will be literally a minute, because many colleagues wish to speak. This is not quite the way I wou...

Philip Davies | 528 c284-5 (Link to this contribution) No, because I do not have enough time. The fact that these betting shops have not closed down indic...

Joan Walley | 528 c285-6 (Link to this contribution) I will be brief, because there were many references to sustainable development not only in the Minis...

Joan Ruddock | 528 c283 (Link to this contribution) I shall speak to new clauses 30 and 31, with reference to Deptford high street in my constituency. I...

Simon Kirby | 528 c282-3 (Link to this contribution) I shall speak briefly to new clause 5, which stands in my name. The new clause is designed to allow ...

David Lammy | 528 c282 (Link to this contribution) Given what the Minister has said, I rise to speak to my new clauses 30 and 31. It cannot be right th...

Philip Davies | 528 c284 (Link to this contribution) I am surprise at the lack of faith that the right hon. Members for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock)...

Joan Ruddock | 528 c284 (Link to this contribution) I very much agree. There have been the changes of use on Deptford High street that I have described...

Roberta Blackman-Woods | 528 c283 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend also accept that the Bill does not go far enough in protecting assets that...

Greg Mulholland | 528 c287-8 (Link to this contribution) I will try to keep my comments brief; realistically, with four minutes to go, I probably cannot keep...

Nicholas Dakin | 528 c286-7 (Link to this contribution) I rise to speak to my amendments 11 and 12, which are to do with the right to be heard and equalitie...

Graham P Jones | 528 c220 (Link to this contribution) I accept what the Minister has said on the record, which he made absolutely clear. The new clause ha...

Graham Stringer | 528 c221 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Philip Davies | 528 c221 (Link to this contribution) I want to press on, because the Government have allocated a shameful amount of time for this debate ...

Graham P Jones | 528 c220 (Link to this contribution) No. The Minister of State had the opportunity before to say what he has said this evening, but ther...

Philip Davies | 528 c220-1 (Link to this contribution) I certainly hope that the Minister will give me as helpful a response as he gave the previous speake...

Annette Brooke | 528 c223 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a powerful case for the next localism Bill. Does he agree that it is important,...

David Ward | 528 c223 (Link to this contribution) Of course I agree. Let me conclude by saying that it is time to set local government free. In that ...

Kelvin Hopkins | 528 c221-2 (Link to this contribution) I entirely endorse what the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) said about first past the post. ...

David Ward | 528 c222-3 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for this opportunity to place my views, with which those hon. Members who served on th...

Heidi Alexander | 528 c223-4 (Link to this contribution) I am conscious that many hon. Members wish to speak, so I shall limit my comments to a few. I applau...

Andrew Percy | 528 c224 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is adopting a strange position in defending the massive increase in pay at the top of ...

Heidi Alexander | 528 c224 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that the hon. Gentleman was listening. I said that I accepted pay transparency is a go...

Justin Tomlinson | 528 c224 (Link to this contribution) The responsibility of chief officers has not changed. The last Government actively encouraged counci...

Heidi Alexander | 528 c225 (Link to this contribution) I have no experience of that happening. I would be interested to speak to the hon. Gentleman after t...

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park | 528 c225-6 (Link to this contribution) We have so little time that I am going to cut straight to the chase; I hope not to take more than a ...

Nick Raynsford | 528 c226-7 (Link to this contribution) I wish to speak, very briefly, to amendments 365 and 366, which I tabled and which relate to standar...

Andrew Percy | 528 c227 (Link to this contribution) I served as a local councillor for 10 years under the previous standards regime, which was an abuse ...

Martin Vickers | 528 c228 (Link to this contribution) Let me first say how ably my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (John Stevenson) spoke to amendment...

Lord Barwell | 528 c228 (Link to this contribution) I want to comment briefly on three of the amendments that have been discussed so far. I have a huge...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c216-7 (Link to this contribution) I am about to conclude, so as to leave time for other Members to speak. I regret that a new group o...

Clive Betts | 528 c216 (Link to this contribution) While my hon. Friend is running through a list of authorities, will she also refer to Sheffield—now ...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c216 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. I was not going to go through a complete list, but I welcome hearing about what has happ...

Steve McCabe | 528 c215-6 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend accept that we need a clear line on this? The Secretary of State's apparent prop...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c216 (Link to this contribution) No, there is absolutely not. I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. Hon. Members will be int...

Kelvin Hopkins | 528 c214 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a strong point. As a former Unison trade union officer, I know that a high prop...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c214-5 (Link to this contribution) Indeed, a quarter of those who experience in-work poverty are employed by the public sector. In addi...

Yasmin Qureshi | 528 c213 (Link to this contribution) The Prime Minister says that he wants power to be given back to local people. Does my hon. Friend ag...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c213-4 (Link to this contribution) That is a contradiction. In fact, the 126 or 142 new powers—we can count them in different ways—are ...

Speaker | 528 c219 (Link to this contribution) Order. It is up to the Member speaking whether they wish to give way. The hon. Gentleman has given w...

John Stevenson | 528 c217 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on Report on this important Bill. I appreciate that there...

Graham P Jones | 528 c219 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Minister for that, because he is essentially saying that he has just ripped up his own n...

Graham P Jones | 528 c219 (Link to this contribution) I would like to finish speaking.

John Stevenson | 528 c217-8 (Link to this contribution) I accept that they are not universally supported by all parties, but I believe that there is broad s...

Graham P Jones | 528 c218-9 (Link to this contribution) I want to address new clauses 13 and 14 on EU fines. I believe that ministerial advice stated that i...

Greg Clark | 528 c219 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to stop the hon. Gentleman in his tracks, but I think that I can reassure him. He is o...

Lord Stunell | 528 c206-8 (Link to this contribution) I take note of that, and I will return to it in two or three minutes' time, if I may. The hon. Lady...

Heidi Alexander | 528 c208 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister accept that clause 5, when taken in conjunction with the review that his Departmen...

Lord Stunell | 528 c205 (Link to this contribution) I hope to have satisfied the hon. Lady by the time I have completed my remarks. If not, I am sure th...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c205 (Link to this contribution) This is the point where we have to become non-consensual, because Labour Members are still totally o...

Speaker | 528 c198 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: New clause 8—Sunday trading hours - power...

Lord Stunell | 528 c198 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

Baroness Keeley | 528 c205 (Link to this contribution) Not wanting to become non-consensual at this early stage, I note that the Minister talks about limit...

Lord Stunell | 528 c204-5 (Link to this contribution) I look forward to hearing my hon. Friend's case deployed in the debate. I am pleased to report that...

Philip Davies | 528 c204 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Minister's opening remarks and wonder whether he is, therefore, just about to get on t...

Lord Stunell | 528 c204 (Link to this contribution) New clause 12 refines one of the central elements of the Bill—the general power of competence. I sha...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c211-2 (Link to this contribution) I am glad that Ministers are still so interested in my website—it makes it worth all the effort of k...

Lord Stunell | 528 c212 (Link to this contribution) I have really been disappointed by the hon. Lady's remarks, which are a travesty of what is in prosp...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c212-3 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that I am not convinced by that, and I am not making this up. I know Professor Clements,...

Lord Stunell | 528 c208-9 (Link to this contribution) The review of statutory duties is a separate exercise. We have made it clear several times that the ...

Lord Stunell | 528 c209 (Link to this contribution) The right hon. Gentleman asked me a question and the answer is no, I do not accept that at all. When...

Nick Raynsford | 528 c209 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is putting the completely absurd proposition to the House that the local authority will...

Lord Stunell | 528 c209 (Link to this contribution) The Local Government Association has given notice that it sees itself as—I do not want to put words ...

Oliver Heald | 528 c209 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister expect to give any guidance under the powers in the Bill on what a code of conduct...

Lord Stunell | 528 c209-11 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware that the Bill is not applicable in Northern Ireland. Curr...

Jim Shannon | 528 c209 (Link to this contribution) In Northern Ireland, we have a stringent code of conduct for local authorities. Has the Minister had...

Jonathan Edwards | 528 c197 (Link to this contribution) Looking at the proposed timetable, I note that parts 4 and 5 alone include 14 new clauses as well as...

Greg Clark | 528 c195-6 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That the Order of 17 January 2011 (Localism Bill (Programme)) be varied as follows:""...

Baroness Keeley | 528 c197 (Link to this contribution) I will be even more brief. As the Minister suggests, on Report the Government have tabled 234 new cl...

Jack Dromey | 528 c277-81 (Link to this contribution) I intend to finish my speech soon, for reasons that I have already given. In a debate lasting less t...

Annette Brooke | 528 c281-2 (Link to this contribution) I shall be very brief. I share concerns about Government new clause 15 even after the Minister's ass...

Joan Walley | 528 c269 (Link to this contribution) The issue of open-cast coal mining is critical, particularly in former coal mining areas. If there i...

Greg Clark | 528 c275 (Link to this contribution) I understand the right hon. Lady's point. This is something that is reflected across the country. On...

David Lammy | 528 c284 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Kelvin Hopkins | 528 c217 (Link to this contribution) I accept that elected mayors were a Labour concept, although I was not in favour of them. It is noti...