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Planning Bill

I agree with that and thought about using the quote in my speech. I obviously agree with my hon. Friend in quoting it. The reason why we do not oppose the Bill outright but propose a reasoned amendment is because we want to take the best out of the Bill and build on the strengths of the existing and familiar system. We want to work constructively with the right hon. Lady to develop a system that will meet the needs of the country and help the economy to grow. Let me start with what we agree with. We support the idea of national policy statements. We feel strongly that Parliament must have responsibility for devising and testing those vital statements. Matters of vital national importance, such as airports, nuclear power stations, other types of power stations, the disposal of waste plants and major transport links, should be decided by the House. In making such decisions, we must recognise that we are removing some of the public's right of argument and delay. The public may take that removal better if Parliament oversees the process, rather than the Government or an agency on their behalf. Some will say ““What is the difference? A Government with a good majority can get just about anything they want””, but I think that there is an important difference. In my experience of this place—admittedly it is only 16 years or so—when we are given a real scrutiny role we take it seriously, and in Committee we will table amendments to strengthen parliamentary scrutiny.