As Parliament returns from conference recess, legislation is back on the daily agenda. There have been two key Bills that have been of focus for the RTPI public affairs team over the past few months – The Planning and Infrastructure Bill and the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. As we head towards the end of the year, the Government urging them through Parliament so they can move onto the next key stage in their reform programme – delivery.
Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB)
On Monday 20 October, the PIB will enter Report Stage in the House of Lords. There have been four sittings allocated for this stage, and it will give all members of the Lords a further opportunity to examine, table and vote on amendments to the Bill.
We’re very pleased that after all RTPI supported amendments were tabled and debated as part of the House of Lords Committee stage debates, the RTPI-backed Chief Planner amendment has been re-tabled for the Report stage by Lord Lansley, with Lord Banner, Lord Best and Lord Shipley as co-sponsors. We look forward to the further debate on the amendment during Report stage and the voting outcome.
The Government have also this week tabled a package of their own amendments to the Bill. Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government Lord’s Minister, has tabled the Government amendments which include provisions that would allow a development order to enable the Secretary of State to give directions restricting the refusal of planning permission or permission in principle by a local planning authority in England. The Government has also tabled a new clause that would permit Natural England not to respond to certain requests for advice under section 4(1) of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006. Report stage debates will be the first time this package of amendments will be publicly scrutinised.
Other non-Government amendments are being tabled daily ahead of Report stage and we will be urging Peers to scrutinise amendments to ensure they do not bring additional burdens onto the planning system and that they are achieving the correct outcomes through the appropriate regulatory regimes.
Once Report stage debates and voting wraps up, the Bill will move to its Third Reading in the House of Lords. This will be the final opportunity for specific parts of the Bill to be clarified and the Government to make any further changes that were promised at earlier stages of the Bill’s passage. It’s expected that the Bill will head back to the Commons in November for consideration of the Lords amendments.
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (EDCEB)
This week the House of Common’s EDCEB Committee have begun their line-by-line scrutiny of the Bill. The Committee is made up of 17 members from across parties, including Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Miatta Fahnbulleh MP.
At this stage the Committee will consider every clause within the Bill, with amendments tabled by MPs being selected for discussion by the chairman of the Committee. Moved amendments will then be voted on by members of the Committee.
The RTPI is fully supportive of the Government’s commitment to an ongoing and comprehensive devolution agenda across the country. We have long been calling for the return of strategic planning and believe that England will benefit enormously from the introduction of spatial development strategies (SDSs). We continue to raise the issue of resourcing and the need for support to be provided across the country to deliver timely and more equal SDS coverage.
We have submitted our written evidence to the Committee which details our overall response to the Bill, as well as the key areas we believe could be supported and enhanced with the inclusion of RTPI backed amendments.
We are proposing the following to help maximise the success of the devolution agenda:
- The establishment of rural affairs commissioners and a duty to have regard to rural needs, where appropriate.
- Evidence mayoral collaboration through national infrastructure strategies.
- Ensure neighbourhood governance structures contribute to a plan-led system.
- Commissioners to operate a place-based approach, working collaboratively.
- Prioritising an equal rollout of SDSs across the country and supporting strategic authorities to ensure this.
- Ensure effective implementation through the preparation of a long-term workforce strategy.
We’ll continue to monitor and work with MPs and Peers over the coming months as these key pieces of legislation progress further through Parliament, amplifying the voice of our members throughout our briefings and meetings.
