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Planning Bill

I share the anxiety of the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, about the word ““continuously”” in the amendment moved by my noble friend on the Front Bench. I am not sure how that would work. My amendment and that of the noble Baroness would require a clear, fixed period after which there must be a review. The wording of our amendments would mean that, after five years, there would need to be a review. That is a maximum; it is entirely open. If there is a major change of circumstance, a national policy statement could be reviewed earlier than that. However, simply to leave it at large to the Secretary of State to decide when to review, which is what the Bill says, is quite unacceptable. We all recognise that we are in a world of rapid change. We are also in a world in which there are often great public, even political, sensitivities—that is the subject matter of the Bill. However, if there is a duty on the Secretary of State not to leave a review longer than five years, it will be clear what he or she then has to do. It is better to be specific on these issues than simply to leave the matter at large.