Current Policy Response Work

07-Aug-08

Governments undertake a wide range of policy development work. The RTPI policy team uses the policy and research priorities and the policy and practice strategy to help to decide which to respond to.

RTPI Members can contribute their expertise to the development of new policy positions to be used in policy responses.

The RTPI policy team are involved in the following current policy consultations.

Link to Consultation Document	Body and Nation	Internal Closing Date	Contact the Policy Team
Draft PPS - Eco-towns The draft Planning Policy Statement (PPS) on eco-towns precisely defines what constitutes an eco-town; what environmental, social, and economic standards these developments should achieve; and how eco-towns relate to the planning system. You can also view our previous response to eco-towns here.	CLG England	19 January 2009	Email Policy
Draft Definitions for Retail Planning The NRPF’s new Definitions for Retail Planning cover a range of parameters widely used in retail planning analysis and forecasting. They are now published in draft form, and comments from interested parties are invited. You can also view the RTPI's response on the draft changes to PPS6: Planning for Town Centres here.	The National Retail Planning Forum	1 December 2008	Email Policy
Community Land Trusts - a Consultation Paper This consultation document, which only covers England, sets out Government policies on the regulation of, financial support for and access to social rented and affordable housing provided with public subsidy. It seeks views on how these policies relate to the concept of Community Land Trusts and the development of a viable, well managed and robust Community Land Trusts sector.	CLG England	28 November 2008	Email Policy
Skills to grow: Seven priorities to improve urban green space skills. Consultation paper on the main skills challenges facing the green space sector and ways in which these can be tackled.	CABE Space - for CLG England	Response submitted	Email Education
Tolerated Trespassers: Successor Landlord Cases - a consultation paper Consultation paper and impact assessment relating to tolerated trespassers and successor landlord cases.	CLG England	19 November 2008	Email Policy
Implementing the Mobile Homes Act 1983 on local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites: A Consultation Paper The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 will apply the Mobile Homes Act 1983 to local authority Gypsy and Traveller sites. This consultation document seeks views on a number of issues around implementing the1983 Act on these sites	CLG England	19 November 2008	Email Policy
Towards a Nuclear National Policy Statement This consultation document from BERR is of profound interest, not merely for its highly significant content, but for the window that it provides into the newly emerging practice of National Policy Statement development under the Planning Bill. An RTPI response will need not only to engage with the subject matter of the consultation, but with higher level questions about the adequacy of the consultation process and practices associated with it. This also presents an opportunity for RTPI to present a succinct vision about what a good process might be.	BERR - UK	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Transforming places; changing lives: A framework for regeneration This document sets out an ambitious package of proposals that aim to shape the way that regeneration is carried out in future in England. The proposed new approach aims to improve the value-for-money of regeneration investment and contains a renewed focus on ensuring that regeneration tackles the underlying economic challenges to increase social mobility and support people to reach their potential, regardless of where they live. It argues that regeneration in the future needs to be more tightly focused on improving economic outcomes in deprived areas. The RTPI Regeneration Network is forming a task group to respond to this consultation, and will be leading a co-ordinated RTPI response.	CLG - England	Response submitted	Email Policy
Planning Applications: a faster and more responsive system is a review that will examine the progress of planning applications from submission submitted up to and beyond when a decision is made. It is being carried out by Joanna Killian, Chief Executive of Essex County Council and David Pretty, former Group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments PLC. The RTPI is also supporting members' interaction with the Killian-Pretty review through a dedicated web-page which can be accessed from here.	CLG - England	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
The Planning Bill: Click here to access the Bill, Explanatory Report and RTPI briefing papers and actions to date	UK Parliament Main implications for England, Limited application in Wales, Very limited application in Scotland and Northern Ireland	None - activities are undertaken according to the Parliamentary timetable. Members can contribute as long as the Bill remains in Parliament.	Email Policy
Revised waste exemptions from environmental permitting: The aim of the review is to provide a more risk based and proportionate approach to the regulation of waste recovery and disposal operations, complementing the new environmental permitting regime	DEFRA, Welsh Assembly Government, Environment Agency	23 September 2008	Email Policy
Draft PPS 6 This consultation on revisions to Planning Policy Statement (PPS) 6 follows the commitment in the Planning White Paper 'Planning for a Sustainable Future' to review the current approach in PPS6 to assessing the impact of proposals outside town centres. Click here to access our dedicated web page	CLG - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Community Empowerment White PaperThe White Paper contains government proposals about people being active in their community; access to information; having influence; challenge; redress; standing for office; and ownership and control of public assets.	CLG - England	None formally as there is no formal government consultation period. Views sent to the policy team will be passed on to government. There are opportunities for members to directly respond to CLG via the web link to the right.	Email Policy
High Level Marine Objectives The UK Government and Devolved Administrations (other than Scotland) have worked together to set out high level marine objectives which articulate the outcomes they seek for the UK marine area as a whole: PPS 1 for the UK seas.	UK - DEFRA, Welsh Assembly Government, Northern Ireland Executive	30 August 2008	Email Policy
Protection of World Heritage Sites CLG seeks seeks views on proposed measures designed to enhance the protection of World Heritage Sites in England. The Government gave a commitment to introduce two of these measures in its white paper Heritage Protection for the 21st Century, published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in March 2007.	CLG - England	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Eco-Towns - Living a Greener Future . Click here to access the consultation paper on how the government is taking forward the Eco_Towns programme. The RTPI is also supporting member's considerations of the Eco-Town proposals through a dedicated web page which can be accessed from here	CLG - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Draft Soil Strategy Click here to access the consultation paper on the Draft Soil Strategy for England	DEFRA - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Sub-national review. Click here to access the consultation paper on new arrangements for regional planning in England. The RTPI is also supporting members' consideration of the sub-national review proposals through a dedicated web-page which can be accessed from here.	BERR/CLG - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
The Draft Marine Bill: Click here to access the Bill, explanatory report and RTPI responses to Marine consultations and the 2007 Marine White Paper	UK Parliament Main implications for England and Wales, Some application in Northern Ireland, Limited application in Scotland	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
The Draft Heritage Protection Bill: Click here to access the Bill, explanatory report and RTPI responses to consultations and the 2007 Heritage White Paper	UK Parliament Main implications for England and Wales and in the marine environment	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Participatory Budgeting: can these new proposals from CLG serve as a useful community planning and implementation tool?	CLG - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
The Future of Building Control: how could or should the building control and planning systems relate better together? Proposals for the future are set out in this CLG consultation	CLG - England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Improving Surface Drainage Click here to access the consultation paper "Improving Surface Water Drainage" from the DEFRA website	DEFRA-England	Response Submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
Review of "Call-In" Directions Click here to access the Review of "Call-In" Directions consultation paper from the CLG web site	CLG-England	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
PPS4 Click here to access the consultation paper for the new PPS4: Planning for Sustainable Economic Development from the CLG web site	CLG - England	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response
PPS12 Click here to access the draft replacement PPS12 guidance on the preparation of Local Development Frameworks in England	CLG - England	Response submitted	Click here to read the RTPI response

Members wishing to help form RTPI policy in respect of these consultations can view the papers by following the link and can then send their views to the policy team. Members wishing to comment on the current work programme can†contact policy@rtpi.org.uk.

Where relevant, an internal closing date is provided next to each consultation. This indicates that the consulting body has set a deadline for responses. The internal closing date enables the RTPI policy team to draft a coordinated response in time to meet the response deadline: please try to comment inside the internal consultation period.

RTPI nations and regions, networks and associations have strong roles in policy development. Follow these links to make contact and offer to help. The RTPI policy team is preparing short guides that explain how it works in partnership with nations, regions, networks and associations.

Planning Aid casework can provide valuable policy experience. Follow this link to volunteer. Existing caseworkers can offer help through their regional coordinators. A short guide to policy partnership between Planning Aid and the RTPI policy team will shortly be available here.