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Planning Bill

I have Amendments Nos. 165, 167 and 168 in this group. On Amendment No. 165, I share the concern of the noble Lord, Lord Reay. When the notion of covering more than a single field in this provision was introduced in the Commons, it was said that it would clarify drafting. I think I know the answer, but perhaps the Minister can clarify the position for me. Is a single application possible across more than one field? I think that the answer is ““yes””. Amendment No. 166 represents perhaps an obscure way of probing. I sent the question to the office of the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, and I hope that it is not so obscure as to be impossible to answer. I suggested taking out, "““for specified purposes or generally””," because I do not understand the difference between paragraphs (a) and (b) in subsection (4). I have asked for the distinction to be explained. On Amendments Nos. 167 and 168, in the Commons the Minister said that the power would be used only in rare circumstances and on the basis of clear criteria. I think that he was referring to this matter. It would be clearer if any future applicable legislation contained the provisions, rather than trying to anticipate them now. More importantly, it would be more appropriate if the Secretary of State did not have the power to make a modification or treat a provision as having been complied with. That strikes me as a significant power, given rather casually to the Secretary of State.