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Planning Policy Statements
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill): In its report on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Annual Report 2003 the ODPM Select Committee gave consideration to the programme for replacing planning policy guidance notes, which set out national policies on issues such as planning for housing, transport etc., by more succinct planning policy statements. The Committee recommended (para 25):
"The failure to deliver on commitments to reform the planning system by issuing revised guidance notes, has led to uncertainty and delays in planning decisions because of impending revisions to policies. We recommend that the Department redoubles its effort to complete the revision of national planning policy, and supporting good practice advice, where necessary, by July 2005. The ODPM would do well formally to withdraw its stated intention to revise the less controversial PPG notes."
An interim response was included in the Government response to the Select Committee's report (Command 6141) published in February 2004. This listed the consultations on reviews of PPGs that were already in hand or planned but indicated that a further announcement would be made on other PPGs. A complete list of planning policy guidance notes is tabled below.
The ODPM is concerned to complete the early updating and revision of policy in those PPGs where this is required for good policy reasons. It is equally concerned that the process of policy review should not cause undue disruption to the programme for local authorities to put in place the first round of new local development documents following commencement of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, which received Royal Assent on 13 May 2004.
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The ODPM will therefore treat as a priority the review of the following PPGs: PPG1 (General Policies and Principles), PPG3 (Housing), PPG4 (Economic Development), PPG6 (Town Centres), PPG7 (Countryside), PPG9 (Nature Conservation/ Biodiversity), PPG10 (Planning and Waste Management), PPG11 (Regional Planning), PPG12 (Development Plans), PPG 22 (Renewable Energy), PPG 23 (Planning and Pollution) and PPG25 (Development and Flood Risk). Consultation has already taken place or is currently underway on several of these documents. The revision, or replacement as PPSs, of these PPGs will be completed by early 2005. Any further revisions to PPG3 (Housing) to take account of the recommendations of the Barker review of housing supply will be completed later in 2005.
The review and replacement of other planning policy guidance notes will only take place as and when necessary in the light of their policy and strategic significance. In the meantime the current PPG will remain in place.
| 1 | General Policy and Principles |
| 2 | Green Belts |
| 3 | Housing |
| 4 | Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms |
| 5 | Simplified Planning Zones |
| 6 | Town Centres and Retail Development |
| 7 | The Countryside—Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development |
| 8 | Telecommunications |
| 9 | Nature Conservation/Biodiversity |
| 10 | Planning and Waste Management |
| 11 | Regional Planning |
| 12 | Development Plans |
| 13 | Transport |
| 14 | Development on Unstable Land |
| 15 | Planning and the Historic Environment |
| 16 | Archaeology and Planning |
| 17 | Planning for Open Space, Sport and Recreation |
| 18 | Enforcing Planning Control |
| 19 | Outdoor Advertisement Control |
| 20 | Coastal Planning |
| 21 | Tourism |
| 22 | Renewable Energy |
| 23 | Planning and Pollution |
| 24 | Planning and Noise |
| 25 | Planning and Flood Risk |
Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Keith Hill): The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act received Royal Assent on 13 May. The Government intends to bring the provisions of the Act into force over the coming months through a series of commencement orders. It is the convention that no part of an Act should be brought into effect earlier than two months after Royal Assent other than in exceptional circumstances.
The Act contains a number of powers enabling the Secretary of State to make subordinate legislation such as regulations or orders. The first commencement order will bring the enabling powers to make subordinate legislation into effect, and it is intended that this order will be made in the second half of July. Subordinate legislation will then be made. Our general approach is to bring substantive provisions of the Act relating to
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England into force by further commencement orders, which will take effect at the same time as the relevant regulations or orders.
The following table sets out an indicative timetable for these commencement orders:
| Provisions | Commencement Date |
|---|---|
| Regional Planning (Part 1) | September 2004 (together with associated regulations and PPS 11) |
| Local Planning (Part 2) | September 2004 (together with associated regulations and PPS 12) |
| Development Planand Sustainable Development (Part 3) | September 2004 |
| Development Control (Part 4) | A number of these provisions are dependent on new regulations or changes to the General Development Procedure Order. Where that is the case and the draft regulations or GDPO changes have already been subject to consultation, provisions are expected to be brought into effect in September 2004. Where the regulations or GDPO changes have not yet been subject to consultation, that will take place in the autumn and the provisions are expected to come into effect in early 2005. Regulations on planning obligations will not be made until early 2006. |
| Slip Rule | September 2004 |
| Crown Immunity (Part 7, Chapter 1) | End 2005 |
| Compulsory Purchase (Part 8) | End October 2004 |
The National Assembly for Wales is responsible for the commencement order for part 6 of the Act.
Scottish Ministers are responsible for the commencement order for chapter 2 of part 7.
The provisions in part 9 (Miscellaneous) and the schedules will be brought into effect on the same date as the substantive provisions to which they relate.
English Indices of Deprivation 2004
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Yvette Cooper): Today I am publishing revised tables for the Indices of Deprivation 2004. The index is based on a total of 37 indicators and the tables published on 28 April contained errors.
IMD 2004 is a major improvement on previous deprivation indices, introducing two new domains—crime and living environment—and a very significant new small area geography—super output areas. It makes available a much better evidence base to improve policy making and delivery at all levels. But these improvements make it a much more complex index to produce. Despite a long and very detailed period of consultation, and extensive pre-publication checks, there have been some teething troubles. I very much regret that these errors have occurred.
The errors occurred in creating the two new domains in the index—living environment and crime. In the former, one set of data was input in the wrong rank order. In the latter, there was a technical error in the way
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in which the data were smoothed to deal with inaccuracies introduced by small numbers of particular crimes.
These errors have now been corrected, and very extensive checks have been made both by the contractors, and at the request of Ministers by independent experts, to ensure as far as possible there are no further such errors in the index. I have placed revised tables in the Library.
The revised tables show changes in the rankings both of individual local authorities, and of the new small super output areas. The most significant of these is that Ashfield has moved out of the list of authorities which are in the top 50 on at least one of the district level measures in the index, while Hammersmith and Fulham rejoins that list.
The new tables are also being placed being on the Department's website.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
British Energy plc (State Aids)
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Patricia Hewitt): The Government were expecting to receive a decision from the European Commission in summer 2004 on the Government's proposed restructuring aid to British Energy plc. Receipt of a positive decision is a condition of the proposed restructuring of the company.
Due to the need to complete final assessments in relation to the financing of the company post-restructuring, it will now not be possible for the Government to present all the necessary information to the commission in time to enable the commission to take a decision before its summer break. Consequently, I now expect the commission to take a decision in autumn 2004.
British Energy continues to make progress on its restructuring, which remains subject to a number of significant uncertainties and important conditions. As I have said previously, the Government's contingency plans to fund the administration of the company should any of the restructuring conditions not be met or the restructuring fail for any other reason will, therefore, remain in place.
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