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Planning Bill

My Lords, I am glad that the noble Baroness welcomes the amendment. I will put on record some of the reasoning behind it and then address the amendment itself. I hope that I can reassure her. It may be useful if I set out why the Bill provides for the commission to invite the relevant local authority, or authorities, to produce a local impact report. We are absolutely clear that local authorities, as the democratically elected representatives of the local community, have a vital role to play in the consent regime for major infrastructure, particularly in ensuring that national decision-makers, including the proposed IPC, take proper account of relevant local factors and considerations. Therefore, the Bill provides local authorities with a vital role in representing their communities in the new process and in ensuring that their local communities are adequately consulted. I say to the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, that we will certainly put out guidance and take early action with local authorities to ensure that they understand the process. This is an important question, because so much will rest on their understanding of what this offers their planning procedures. Relevant local authorities will be consulted by the promoter of a project before they submit an application under the provisions of Part 5 of the Bill. The IPC must have regard to any report on the adequacy of the promoter’s consultation received from a local authority when deciding whether to accept an application. Relevant local authorities will be interested parties to the examination of an application. In addition, Clause 60 requires the IPC, on accepting an application for development consent, to invite the relevant local authority, or authorities, to produce a report on the likely impact on their area of the proposed development being applied for. Clause 104 then requires the commission to have regard to the local impact report when making its decision. Clause 105 requires the Secretary of State to do the same in a case in which she decides, for example, to exercise her power of intervention. This all adds up to the local impact reports being central to the IPC decision. As such, we have sought to give local authorities the longest time to prepare the reports, which will, I envisage, be quite detailed documents. They will reflect the impact of a development on the local development plans; they will reflect what the community feels and thinks. However, the importance that the new process gives to local impact reports needs to be balanced against the need to ensure that the applicant and other interested parties are also given a reasonable opportunity to comment on the report to the IPC. We are looking for a balance of fairness and access. On Report, the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, raised the concern that the Bill does not appear to provide for a local authority’s local impact report to be seen and commented on by the applicant and any other interested party before the end of the examination of the application by the IPC. My noble friend’s concerns arose from the provision in Clause 60(6), which provides that the deadline for submission of the local impact report is the same as the deadline for the completion of the examination of the application by the IPC. My noble friend made a compelling case and I gave an assurance that I would consider this further ahead of Third Reading, which I have done. I accept that provisions in Clause 60(6) may inadvertently suggest that the applicant and other interested parties might not have an opportunity to comment on a local impact report. This was not our intention. Our Amendment No. 9 therefore removes subsection (6) of Clause 60 so that instead it will be for the commission to specify in each case the date by which the local impact report must be received. That will be subject to procedural rules made by the Lord Chancellor under Clause 97, which we expect will clarify that the deadline must give sufficient time for the parties to comment on the local impact report. What we have are rules that will strike the right balance between giving local authorities the longest time possible to complete these detailed and important reports and ensuring that the applicant and interested parties are given a reasonable opportunity to see and comment on the report to the IPC before the completion of the examination of the application. I commend the amendment to the House. Amendment No. 8, which was tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, would provide that the deadline in Clause 60 should allow reasonable time for the preparation of the local impact report. That is not necessary in the light of what I have said. I set out in some detail that it would be for the commission to specify in each case the date by which the local impact report must be received. That will be subject to procedural rules made by the Lord Chancellor under Clause 97, which, as I said, we expect will clarify that the deadline must give sufficient time for the parties to comment on the local impact report. The noble Baroness asked me for reassurance that local authorities will also get reasonable time to comment and complete the local impact reports. I am happy to give her that reassurance because, above all, we will make sure that the procedural rules make it clear that the IPC should give local authorities the longest time possible to complete these reports and ensure that the applicant and the interested parties can see and comment on the report to the IPC. That will be achieved by procedural rules, which is the best way, because it allows for discussion. I hope that the noble Baroness will be satisfied with that.