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Planning Bill

My Lords, I well understand the noble Lord’s point, but it does not detract from the general thrust of my argument, which is that it is ultimately for Ministers to come to a view on the impact on climate change of a national policy statement. Applications are made within that context. My concern is that we do not detract from ministerial accountability and authority in these matters. We could have a very good, general debate about how we influence developers, communities and applicants to do the right thing in relation to sustainability and climate change. There are many mechanisms under which we do that, with responsibility in a number of government departments. Local authorities have a big role to play, as the noble Lord suggested in an earlier amendment. But the key point is the relationship between Ministers, the national policy statements and the IPC. All I seek to do, in acknowledging the concerns that the right reverend prelate has by introducing government amendments, is to ensure that we do not confuse those responsibilities.