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Planning and Energy Bill

My Lords, before I get into the content of the Bill and put the mind of the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, somewhat at rest about the Government’s intentions, it would be remiss of me not to join in the general welcome to my friend the noble Lord, Lord Mogg; or, as he has been known to me for 25 years, John Mogg. Only John Mogg could make a maiden speech on the 13th of the month on a Friday, and a very good speech it was. The House will undoubtedly benefit from the noble Lord’s depth of public service experience and knowledge of the energy sector, which the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, characteristically described as ““something of an expertise””. That is an understatement. The noble Lord, Lord Mogg, will bring to our House not just that knowledge and expertise, but a calm and thoughtful approach to our deliberations. He could not have arrived in the House at a better time, when we are all caught up in considering the implications and challenges of the recent hikes in oil prices, and the challenges to the fuel and energy market which we in government now face. This is an auspicious day for the House, and a particularly beneficial one for the Cross Benches, which will greatly gain from his expertise in, and knowledge and understanding of, these issues. I also congratulate the honourable Member for Sevenoaks, Michael Fallon, on his diligent and hard work in bringing forward this useful Bill, which introduces an element of localism to debates on energy. It is a substantial achievement for a Member of another place to bring a Bill forward so successfully and to have achieved such a high level of cross-party support in doing so. The noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield has spoken eloquently in support of the Bill. While it has clearly had some critics, it is now in good shape. My noble friend Lord Judd made some interesting observations and remarks in his thoughtful contribution about the importance and value of a form of localism in the energy sector. I am sure that the Bill will put a lot of minds at rest, and give a degree of reassurance to those wishing to get involved in microgeneration at a local level. Noble Lords will not be surprised to know that when the Bill was introduced in another place the Government were initially sceptical. We wondered whether it would add to the existing legislative framework. However, once we had sat down with the honourable Member for Sevenoaks and discussed the aims and objectives of the Bill, we were convinced there was a place for such legislation. The amendments debated and agreed as the Bill progressed in another place have ensured that it achieves its intended purpose, and it has turned into a workable piece of legislation. This has been achieved without compromising its original aims. The Bill is clear, coherent in its application and deserves our support. Although it has been brought to our attention by the Delegated Powers Committee that the Bill requires a further technical amendment, that does not detract from its value. This is unfortunate, but something that we must put right for the Bill to be watertight. It transpires that the drafting of the amendments to the Bill lacks sufficient clarity in one respect. Clause 1(2)(a) could be said to create a new power to make regulations to set energy efficiency standards. The intention was not to create a new power, but instead to refer to regulation-making powers contained in other legislation. We will lay an amendment in Committee which will make this clear. The House is already well aware that tackling climate change must be taken seriously. The Bill sits together with a wide package of initiatives being undertaken to tackle climate change, including the Government’s climate change and energy Bills and their broad and compelling provisions. We will consult this summer on a renewable energy strategy, setting out a range of potential measures to deliver our fair share of the EU’s 2020 renewables target. Our Planning Bill includes a duty on local planning authorities to take action on climate change in preparing their local plans. It will require a local planning authority to include in its development plan documents policies designed to ensure that development and use of land in its area contributes to mitigating and adapting to climate change. This duty has been widely welcomed. The list could go on. However, we are today considering this Bill, which enables local planning authorities to set requirements for energy use and energy efficiency in their local plans. Debating the detail of our wider proposals and measures on energy and climate change is for another day. I therefore turn to why the Government supported the amendments that were agreed in the other place. In doing so, I will briefly set out what we are doing to secure cuts in carbon emissions from new buildings. Our zero-carbon homes programme sets a clear pathway for higher standards for new homes. Progressive tightening of building regulations will require major reductions in carbon emissions from new homes to get to zero carbon by 2016. This equates to level 6 of the code for sustainable homes, with intermediate steps in 2010, when we will set building regulations at the standard of level 3 of the code, and 2013, when we will set level 4 standards in the building regulations. We have a similar ambition for new non-domestic buildings to be zero-carbon by 2019. Our climate change planning policy statement sets out how local planning supports achievement of the zero-carbon targets, alongside meeting community needs for economic and housing development. This is an unprecedented scale of ambition. We welcome the industry support we have for this, from industry, housebuilders, the supply chain, local authorities and non-government organisations. The Callcutt review, which reported last year, confirmed that the programme was achievable. However, as with everything else in this sector, it is a huge challenge. It will require industry to get its supply chains into shape to provide zero-carbon products. It will need investment in skills and processes. Above all, we need a co-ordinated programme to minimise duplication and avoid wasted effort. This needs a stable framework to provide certainty for investment over the next eight years. The Callcutt report raised the legitimate concern that if housebuilders had to deal with a plethora of different standards, however well intentioned, that could get in the way of a co-ordinated approach. We must avoid a situation where there are different building standards all over the country. It is in no one’s interest to fragment building standards. However, we recognise that some housebuilders and local authorities will want to go further, faster than the national timetable, and there will be circumstances where it is justified to do so. This will be important for exemplar projects, for example. We said in our Building a Greener Future policy statement last July that we welcomed housebuilders and local authorities working together on exemplar developments, and that local authorities could bring forward policies to encourage and mandate that where the circumstances could justify it. The climate change PPS sets out the policy in more detail; noble Lords who want to examine the text will find it at paragraphs 30 to 33. The PPS also makes it clear that there may be situations where it could be appropriate for planning authorities to anticipate levels of building sustainability in advance of those set nationally. Clearly, local authorities need to demonstrate that circumstances warrant this; where, for example, there are opportunities to use renewables to achieve higher code levels on energy performance. It is also important that, when policies are developed, they should be evidence-based, have regard to viability and not compromise delivery of housing trajectories or affordable housing. With the amendments agreed in the other place, the Bill and the PPS now complement each other on this important policy area. They provide a mutually reinforcing framework to achieve sensible and positive outcomes on building sustainability. That is why we welcome the Bill’s clarity that the energy efficiency standards should be recognised standards which have gone through a proper process of review, discussion and debate. In practical terms, for homes, this means the code for sustainable homes. The amendments made in the other place leave it open for standards to be prepared by Government or by other bodies, such as the Building Research Establishment, which can then be endorsed by the Government. This flexibility has been widely welcomed. During the passage of the Bill in the other place, there was debate about what might be meant by ““reasonable”” requirements. The amendments brought forward by the honourable Member for Sevenoaks and agreed in the other place have tackled this successfully: requirements ““must not be inconsistent”” with national policy. This is important because legislative powers for local authorities cannot be set within a policy vacuum. There is a broader policy framework within which local authorities must operate if we are to avoid unintended consequences. This includes the importance of ensuring individual consumer choice about their energy providers, through a competitive market. Clearly there are technical standards needed to ensure safety and security of supply. Also, the climate change PPS sets out clear steps on ““testing”” local requirements to make sure they are reasonable. These tests are not there to tie councils down but are simple steps to ensure that what is proposed fully reflects local potential and, more importantly, is deliverable—in short, that they are reasonable. On local green energy from local renewable and local low-carbon sources, our new planning rules in the climate change PPS set out our Merton-plus approach. We expect a council-wide, Merton-style rule for cutting carbon by using local renewable and low-carbon energy in new development plus tailored targets for sites where there are bigger opportunities than the council-wide target. We do not want the average to be the height of ambition. The Bill reinforces the direction of this planning guidance. We welcome this. I hope I have outlined why the Government feel that the Bill should be supported. Through discussion and amendment, the risk elements discussed in the other place have been removed. We believe the Bill we now have will strengthen and enhance our existing planning guidance and other measures we are taking through legislation. The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, asked about guidance and suggested that it was work in progress. The PPS on climate change was published last year and there is work in progress on draft practice guidance which will support it. It, of course, has to be consistent with the PPS process. Having said all that, and given our warm welcome to the Bill, I simply observe that it is in the good hands of the noble Lord, Lord Hanningfield, who I am sure will charm us with his knowledge of its importance and value, particularly to the local government sector. Our resolve will be strengthened as we look at its planning aspects, notably through the advice that the Committee will receive from the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, who is very knowledgeable in this field. I know that my noble friend Lord Judd will be an ever present, passionate voice on the Benches behind me, arguing for an intelligent approach to this issue. I am sure that we will be well advised by the calm and reassuring words of the noble Lord, Lord Mogg, whom I once again congratulate on his contribution to your Lordships’ proceedings this morning.