The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Baldry,
Tony
(Banbury)
(Con)
Betts,
Mr. Clive
(Sheffield, Attercliffe)
(Lab)
Binley,
Mr. Brian
(Northampton, South)
(Con)
Burrowes,
Mr. David
(Enfield, Southgate)
(Con)
Byers,
Mr. Stephen
(North Tyneside)
(Lab)
Drew,
Mr. David
(Stroud)
(Lab/Co-op)
Eagle,
Maria
(Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland)
Foster,
Mr. Michael
(Worcester)
(Lab)
Fraser,
Mr. Christopher
(South-West Norfolk)
(Con)
Hall,
Mr. Mike
(Weaver Vale)
(Lab)
Hermon,
Lady
(North Down)
(UUP)
Lazarowicz,
Mark
(Edinburgh, North and Leith)
(Lab/Co-op)
McDonnell,
Dr. Alasdair
(Belfast, South)
(SDLP)
MacShane,
Mr. Denis
(Rotherham)
(Lab)
Norris,
Dan
(Wansdyke)
(Lab)
Purchase,
Mr. Ken
(Wolverhampton, North-East)
(Lab/Co-op)
Reid,
Mr. Alan
(Argyll and Bute)
(LD)
Rosindell,
Andrew
(Romford)
(Con)
Salter,
Martin
(Reading, West)
(Lab)
Wareing,
Mr. Robert N.
(Liverpool, West Derby)
(Lab)
Wilson,
Sammy
(East Antrim)
(DUP)
Frank
Cranmer, Committee
Clerk
attended the Committee
Fourth
Standing Committee on Delegated
Legislation
Tuesday 31
October
2006
[Hywel
Williams in the
Chair]
Draft Electricity Consents (Planning) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006
4.30
pm
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Maria
Eagle): I beg to
move,
That the
Committee has considered the draft Electricity Consents (Planning)
(Northern Ireland) Order
2006.
It is a pleasure
to be under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr.
Williams. I hope that the order might be described as technical though
necessary, rather than hugely controversial, although needless to say I
am happy to deal with any issues that arise out of my introducing
it.
The draft order
was laid before the House on9 October and it introduces
provisions to amend the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992 so as
to bring consents for electricity projects in Northern Ireland broadly
in line with those in Great
Britain.
In Northern
Ireland, as elsewhere in the UK, the Government have taken up the
challenge of climate change, which has been in the news a lot in the
past few days. It is one of the priority areas in the Northern Ireland
sustainable development strategy, and the order is designed to make a
it a little simpler for developers and those wishing to implement new
ways of generating electricity to deal with the Government and the
consents procedure.
Lady
Hermon (North Down) (UUP): I am delighted to sit under
your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr. Williams, and I am
grateful to the Minister for taking an intervention so early. Although
she has alluded to the fact that the order will facilitate and help
developers, will she be kind enough to reflect on the impact on
environmentalists and whether they will be as enthusiastic about the
order as
developers?
Maria
Eagle: I shall be happy to deal with that point when I
come to it, a little later in my remarks. I want to begin by stressing
that the Government in Northern Ireland are committed to taking the
lead in terms of facilitating new ways of generating electricity. For
example, we have recently seen the introduction of the £59
million environment and renewable energy fund, which is to support
sustainable energy projects in the public and private sectors,
including innovative demonstration projects that are at the cutting
edge of sustainable technologies.
We also provide some support
for a pilot project for a marine current turbine in Strangford lough.
The opening of a renewable energy installers academy, which I had the
pleasure to visit up at the Maydown campus of the North West institute,
has provided a state-of-the-art training infrastructure for designers
and installers of renewable energy technologies. There is also a
commitment to change building regulations so that all new build has
microgeneration capability
included.
We have also
commenced work with the Government of the Irish Republic to produce a
joint vision for renewable energy on the island of Ireland, on which I
hope the changes we are proposing in the order will provide some
assistance.
Northern
Ireland is uniquely placed in Europe to address the challenges of
climate change by using renewable energy sources such as onshore and
offshore wind farms and marine turbine developments. The Secretary of
State aims to establish Northern Ireland as a world leader in the
development of renewable energy, and I hope that the order will assist
us in meeting that
aim.
The drive to
increase the use of renewable sources of energy means that we expect
the vast majority of new applications for energy generation consent in
Northern Ireland to be from renewable sources, including onshore and
offshore wind farms, energy from waste and marine turbine projects. We
are committed to doing all that we can to meet our targets on reducing
carbon emissions. Therefore, it is vital that there is a prioritised,
efficient and managed consent procedure and a process for new
electricity generation
projects.
The process
must be sufficient to give confidence to developers that their
applications will not be subject to any unnecessary delays while
ensuring that the necessary planning and environmental safeguards
remain in place. That is the point that the hon. Member for North Down
(Lady Hermon) referred to. The order is intended to do just
that.
While the order
will streamline the electricity consent processes for developers, it
will not make any changes to the environmental protection that is there
and will simply provide a one-stop shop for developers to use. Instead
of having to go to two different Departments to obtain the necessary
consents so as to go ahead with their new generation capacity,
developers will be able to come to just one Department. We are not
changing any of the content of the requirements of those consents; we
are simply making it easier for developers, who will have to deal with
one Department rather than more than
one.
Under the order,
the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment will assume
responsibility for managing a combined consent process for
electricity-generating projects, in line with the consent process that
operates in the rest of the UK. As I said, it will be a one-stop
shop.
Maria
Eagle: I will give way in a moment, if the hon. Lady will
let me finish this point. I realise that she is very
enthusiastic.
The
order will enable DETI to grant deemed planning permission and deemed
hazardous substances consent on applications for consent to construct,
extend or operate an electricity-generating station under article 39 of
the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992, or for consent to
construct overhead electric lines under article
40.
Lady
Hermon: The Minister said that the lead Department will be
the Department of Enterprise, Trade and InvestmentDETI for
shortand alluded to the possibility of offshore wind farms. Of
course, as an island, Ireland is ideally suited to offshore wind farms.
Can the Minister explain what will happen if there is a clash between
DETI and the Department of the Environment, which plays second fiddle
to DETI? Which will prevail, and have we prepared for failure between
the two
Departments?
Maria
Eagle: I assure the hon. Lady that the combined system
proposed by the order will not change the content of the protections
that are in place. The environmental protection under the new system
will be exactly the same as at present. The environmental planning
safeguards, which will be maintained, will still include environmental
impact assessments and the consents and licences associated with
current regulations. There will still have to be planning
safeguards.
All the
protections that currently apply are protected by the new order, which
simply creates a one-stop shop so that developers can go to DETI
instead of various Departments to ask for consent and to get planning
permission and the other permissions that they require to go ahead.
DETI will administer the joint system, but it will not overrule. The
existing environmental safeguards will remain in
place.
I hope that
that provides the hon. Lady with some reassurance. The order does not
provide a way of enabling developers to circumvent controls in the
planning system. If she is not happy with that, I shall attempt to
explain further precisely what the arrangements will be, but she might
want to make some other remarks after I sit
down.
The measures in
the order provide for DETI, which will be the Department with
responsibility for the strategic development of an efficient, economic
and environmentally sustainable electricity industry in Northern
Ireland, to manage a combined electricity consent process. That means
that developers will have a single point of contact for their
generating applications and will not have to go through separate
processes.
As further
measures aimed at fast-tracking certain sustainable energy projects
that are signposted in the Governments energy review are
brought forward in Great Britain, we will, of course, consider whether
they are appropriate for Northern Ireland, but that is not affected by
the order. On that basis, I commend the order to the
Committee.
4.39
pm
Andrew
Rosindell (Romford) (Con): It is a pleasure to serve under
your chairmanship, Mr. Williams. I believe that this is the
first time I have done so. I am standing in today for my hon. Friend
the Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson), who is away on
parliamentary business in Ethiopia. I would like to thank the Minister
for her comments and, in the absence of my hon. Friend and on behalf of
Her Majestys Opposition, make it clear that we support the
order, as it will speed up what has been a lengthy and costly
process.
Our only surprise is that it has
taken so long for Northern Ireland to be brought into line with the
rest of the United Kingdom on this issue. There are, however, a few
other concerns that I hope the Minister can clarify for me. If DETI
will have a lead role in managing applications, will it give final
consent? If so, can she give an absolute guarantee that applications
will still be as stringently tested in terms of their impact on the
environment? Applications for renewable energy sources can be highly
controversial in that respect, and it is important that there should be
no circumvention. Also, in giving consent, will it be possible for DETI
to overrule or ignore any environmental concerns that are raised by the
Department of the
Environment?
It is in
everybodys interests to have the most efficient planning
consent system in Northern Ireland. The order is a step in the right
direction of ensuring that the key energy challenges that Northern
Ireland faces are fully addressed, but I would appreciate a response to
the concerns that I have
raised.
4.41
pm
Mr.
Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD): It is a pleasure to
serve under your chairmanship, Mr.
Williams.
I support
the principles behind the order, which combines the application process
so that developers will have to apply to only one Department, instead
of two. I am all in favour of streamlining the planning process as, in
so many respects and under any Government, planning applications seem
to take a long time. However, safeguards must obviously still be in
place. People have the right to be notified, the right to object and
the right to have their objections considered. So long as those rights
were still in place, I would be fully in favour of streamlining the
process.
Lady
Hermon: I am enormously grateful to the hon. Gentleman for
giving way, as I did not have an opportunity to intervene on the hon.
Member for Romford (Andrew
Rosindell).
The hon.
Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid) should perhaps
hesitate before giving such warm and enthusiastic support to the order
and reflect on what he has just pinpointedthe consultation with
and consents from the public. Does he not think it extraordinary that
there was no formal consultation with the public before the order was
introduced? Is that not slightly unusual, if the order is to be
welcomed across the
Committee?
Mr.
Reid: The hon. Lady makes a good point on which I hope the
Minister will reassure
us.
Although I am in
favour of the order in principle and in favour of streamlining the
planning process, I still have concerns and some questions for the
Minister. Proposed new paragraph 1A(6) of schedule 8 to the Electricity
(Northern Ireland) Order 1992
says:
Before
determining whether to grant any consent...the Department shall
consider...any
objections,
and,
where
an inquiry has been held...the report of the
inquiry.
However,
nothing in the order gives the Department guidelines on any other
considerations to take into
account in deciding whether to grant applications. If there has been no
inquirythe Department decides whether to call oneall it
has to do is consider the objections. There is a complete lack of
further guidance.
Can
the Minister assure us that there will be rules and regulations in
place and that the Department cannot simply take dictatorial decisions?
Will she confirm that the Department must take into account planning
policy and planning rules before taking the decision, and that it does
not simply have to listen to the objections and then make a
decision?
Another
concern is to do with proposed new paragraph 1A(4) of schedule 8 to the
1992 order, which
says:
If the
Department thinks it appropriate to do so, the Department
shall...cause an inquiry to be
held.
Again, there is no
guidance to the Department on whether to call an inquiry. For example,
will a certain number of objections trigger an inquiry, or will a power
station with a generating capacity that is over a certain level do so?
It simply seems that an inquiry will be allowed when the Department
thinks it appropriate to do so. Will the Minister assure us that
guidance and rules will be in place for the
Department?
I also
want to draw a distinction between the notification processes for a
public inquiry and for the application. Under proposed new paragraph
1B(3) of schedule 8 to the 1992 order, I see that when an inquiry is to
be held the notice must
be
published in at least
two newspapers circulating among persons likely to be
affected.
With the
application, there is no such rule and the order merely says
in such manner as may be
prescribed.
Will the
Minister assure us that rules will be in place that mean that the
Department has to publicise the application so that people likely to be
affected by it know about it and have the opportunity to
object?
Assuming that
the Minister can give satisfactory answers to those questions, I shall
support the
order.
4.46
pm