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Planning Bill

My comments follow on from what the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, has just said. The noble Lord, Lord Howarth, and the noble Baroness will know that we on these Benches very much supported the principle of what was put forward in the Housing and Regeneration Bill. My noble friend Lord Tyler would have wished to be here today to speak more authoritatively than I can on the issue. Earlier, the noble Baroness referred to the training of commissioners. I hope that training in analysing and articulating points in relation to design can be very much on the agenda. ““Taste”” is not the same as saying whether something is good or bad design. However, the area has become fudged and I think that that is partly because it is difficult to express one’s views about design any further than ““I like it”” or ““I don’t like it””. Therefore, I make a plea for this area to be a very early part of any would-be commissioner’s training.