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Planning Bill

It is strange that in this clause the Secretary of State ““must review””, but then you find that it is when he ““thinks it appropriate””. How does that work? How does the compulsion operate? It is not the clearest possible formulation of the Secretary of State’s position. Perhaps the provision should read, "““whenever it is appropriate to do so””," without the Secretary of State's opinion being necessarily the determining factor. For example, it should be possible to indicate some factors that would point to a review such as those referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Turnbull. Are there applications in the area of the particular policy statement in question that raise issues about whether the policy statement is really up to date? I have some views, of course, on the point made by my noble friend Lord Jenkin of Roding about judicial review. The best way to limit judicial review is to make it clear what the intentions of Parliament are in relation to these matters. Clause 13, which we will come to, is intended to assist in that process.