---

Planning Bill

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Caithness for his support. From the Minister’s reaction, I seem to have put my hand into a hornets’ nest. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, that the quotes from Sir Michael Pitt and Sir John Harman came straight from letters. The Minister probably has other such quotes. This is a big issue, which was highlighted by the terrible events of last summer. We must learn those lessons. We must somehow react to the Pitt recommendations—there are 90 of them. That is a Defra responsibility, but responsibility also falls on the noble Baroness’s shoulders for planning and housing. Departments must get together and see how to work through the Pitt recommendations to find the right answers so that when we build housing or the large infrastructures that will be built over the next 10 years, we do not make the same mistakes that have been made in the past. Having stuck my hand into the hornets’ nest, I am reassured by the noble Baroness saying that the national policy statements and the IPC will have to take regard of PPS25 whether it is currently robust enough or not. That is heartening and I shall withdraw the amendment.