The Government overcame stiff opposition to its controversial plan to streamline planning decisions with amendments to ‘improve democratic scrutiny’ of the process.
Planning minister, John Healey, insisted the national policy statements the proposed new Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) would use to determine applications for transport and other infrastructure ‘will be scrutinised by parliament’.
But, Opposition and some Labour MPs voted against the measures, arguing that forming a select committee ‘to advise’ the Government on the statements would not be a sufficiently-democratic check. Healey claimed it was not necessary for parliament to have the final say on the statements because ‘national policy statements are government policy’, and ‘the Government decides policy, parliament scrutinises it’.
There would need to be a national policy statement agreed before any applications could be decided, he revealed, confirming that the aviation White Paper was not a national policy statement. But the Government, acknowledging Local Government Association concerns over the potential scope of the projects that would be determined by the IPC, amended the Bill to make clear only Highways Agency roads would be included, not local authority strategic roads.
However, he admitted that cycle lanes and pedestrian schemes alongside trunk roads would be included under the scope of ‘nationally-significant infrastructure’.
The Institution of Civil Engineers mounted a robust defence of the IPC this week, arguing that the new body ‘is desperately needed to improve delivery of essential infrastructure’. The situation ‘where planning inquiries drag on for years is no longer sustainable’. An ICE round table, attended by contractors and consultants including Balfour Beatty and Halcrow last week, ‘underlined industry-wide support’ for the proposal.
But Miles Butler, chair of the County Surveyors’ Society planning and regeneration committee, welcomed clarification that highways schemes would be decided by the IPC. But, he stressed that ‘the more democratic the process for adopting the statements, the greater public acceptance they’ll have’. Conservative shadow communities secretary, Jacqui Lait, said the statements ‘need to be voted on by parliament’. If they only had the status of government policy, ‘that opens the possibility of extensive judicial reviews,’ she warned. The report stage debate on the Planning Bill will continue next week, after time ran out for debating new government clauses.
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