Clause
160
Determination
of procedure for certain
appeals
Amendment
proposed: No. 480, in clause 160, page 88, line 8, leave out
‘appeal’.—[Mr.
Dhanda.]
6.45
pm
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following: Government amendments Nos. 481 to
512.
Clause stand
part.
Government
amendments Nos. 514 to
534.
Schedule 5 be the
Fifth schedule to the
Bill.
Mr.
Clive Betts (Sheffield, Attercliffe) (Lab): I have one
question for my hon. Friend, to which I am sure that there is an
answer. I scratched my head a little on reading Government amendment
No. 493 because it ends with provision
to
“amend, repeal or
revoke any provision made by or under this Act or by or under any other
Act.”
That is a little
wide-ranging. It appears to be saying that once the Committee has
deliberated and the House has voted, the Minister can do anything that
he wants about anything. Have I got that
wrong?
Mr.
Dhanda:
I dare say that my hon. Friend has got that wrong.
I do not have that amendment before me, but I think that we will
discuss elements of that when discussing the next group of Opposition
amendments. I hope that that will add more
clarity.
Amendment
agreed
to.
Amendments
made: No. 481, in clause 160, page 88, line 9, leave out
‘appeals’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
482, in
clause 160, page 88, line 11, leave
out ‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
483, in
clause 160, page 88, line 11, leave
out ‘is’ and insert
‘are’.
No.
484, in
clause 160, page 88, line 12, leave
out ‘appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.—[Mr.
Dhanda.]
Dan
Rogerson:
I beg to move amendment No. 585, in
clause 160, page 88, line 17, leave
out paragraph
(c).
The
Chairman:
With this it will be convenient to discuss the
following amendments: No. 586, in clause 160, page 89, line 10, leave
out paragraph (c).
No.
587, in
clause 160, page 89, line 38, leave
out paragraph
(c).
Dan
Rogerson:
The amendments arose from a discussion with the
Town and Country Planning Association regarding the issue of appeals
being conducted through submissions by writing, rather than by an
inquiry or hearing. I share its concern. That tendency is an unhappy
one because it does not allow for the sort of cross-examination that we
have discussed under previous amendments tabled by the hon. Member for
Bromley and Chislehurst. Perhaps it is more efficient for the Planning
Inspectorate to deal with written evidence, but it does not necessarily
mean that it is the best way of getting appellants’ views
across. I wanted to see whether the Minister is prepared to accept the
point and to justify widening the use of representation by advisers as
the basis for an appeal, as opposed to the more conventional methods
through a local inquiry or a
hearing.
Robert
Neill:
I broadly support the thrust of the hon.
Gentleman’s observations. The current cope
under certain circumstances for agreement to be made and for further
appeals to be dealt with through written representations is adequate.
We do not wish to move further than that because generally we think
that it is an option that should be available to the parties. As we
have stressed throughout the Committee, when developments deeply affect
people’s livelihoods, their communities and sometimes their
homes, the right to put their own case in their own way and to
cross-examine and make representations should not be lightly removed.
We do not think that the justification is
made.
Mr.
Dhanda:
The effect of the clause is to ensure that the
Planning Inspectorate will use its delegated powers to determine the
appropriate procedure for each case on behalf of the Secretary of
State. The current system
allows the principal parties to select the
procedure. However, in appeals appellants often choose a hearing for
cases that could just as appropriately be determined via the written
representations method or an inquiry for cases that could be considered
at a
hearing.
For
example, an appellant might insist on an inquiry or a hearing for an
application relating to a boundary wall or a dormer roof extension when
the vast majority of such cases do not raise complex policy issues and
can be effectively dealt with by written representations instead. We
want to ensure that the procedure used is proportionate to the
complexity of the subject matter, hence this clause. Cases that do not
need an oral hearing could be fairly and effectively handled by
means of written representations with no loss of quality or equity to
the process and the decision. The outcome will depend on how convincing
the inspector finds the planning merits, not the method of their
representation.
Clause
160 would enable the Planning Inspectorate, acting on behalf of the
Secretary of State, to apply published criteria which Ministers have
approved to determine the most appropriate appeals procedure. The
criteria would be consulted on and regularly reviewed. They would
ensure that any case that is complex, controversial, and thus would
benefit from a hearing or an inquiry, would be dealt with in that way.
They would also ensure that people in vulnerable groups were given a
fair opportunity to put their case, which might mean that a hearing or
inquiry would be appropriate even when it would not normally be
justified by the complexity of the
case.
The
measure in its entirety, with the option of determination by written
representations, is crucial to the delivery of a more proportionate and
efficient system. We estimate that it would yield cost savings of
around £2 million a year to the Planning Inspectorate and
£700,000 a year to local authorities. Applicants and appellants
would benefit from a reduction in the time taken to determine their
cases. I therefore propose that the amendments should be
rejected.
Dan
Rogerson:
I am grateful to the Minister for his
clarification. It is important to get it on the record that there is a
hierarchy of forms of appeal. In coming to a decision as to which one
would be appropriate, regard will be given to the complexity and
importance of the issue. Hearings and inquiries would be very much the
norm for complex and important cases. I am somewhat
reassured. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the
amendment.
Amendment, by leave,
withdrawn.
Amendments
made: No. 485, in clause 160, page 88, line 19, leave out
‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
486, in
clause 160, page 88, line 20, leave
out from ‘period’ to end of line
21.
No. 487, in
clause 160, page 88, line 23, leave
out ‘appeal is’ and insert ‘proceedings
are’.
No. 488,
in
clause 160, page 88, line 25, after
‘appellant’ insert
‘or
applicant (as the case may
be)’.
No. 489,
in
clause 160, page 88, line 29, at
end insert—
‘(aa) an
application referred to the Secretary of State under section 77 instead
of being dealt with by a local planning authority in
England;’.
No. 490, in
clause 160, page 88, line 38, leave
out ‘an appeal if it is’ and insert ‘proceedings
if they
are’.
No. 491,
in
clause 160, page 88, line 39, leave
out ‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
492, in
clause 160, page 88, line 40, leave
out ‘it’ and insert ‘the
proceedings’.
No.
493, in
clause 160, page 88, line 41, at
end insert—
‘(9) The
Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (7)
to—
(a) add proceedings
to, or remove proceedings from, the list of proceedings to which this
section applies, or
(b)
otherwise modify the descriptions of proceedings to which this section
applies.
(10) An order under
subsection (9) may—
(a)
contain incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional and
transitory provision and
savings;
(b) amend, repeal or
revoke any provision made by or under this Act or by or under any other
Act.”’
No.
494, in
clause 160, page 89, line 2, leave
out ‘appeals’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
495, in
clause 160, page 89, line 4, leave
out ‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
496, in
clause 160, page 89, line 4, leave
out ‘is’ and insert
‘are’.
No.
497, in
clause 160, page 89, line 5, leave
out ‘appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
498, in
clause 160, page 89, line 12, leave
out ‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
499, in
clause 160, page 89, line 13, leave
out from ‘period’ to end of line
14.
No. 500, in
clause 160, page 89, line 16, leave
out ‘appeal is’ and insert ‘proceedings
are’.
No. 501,
in
clause 160, page 89, line 18, after
‘appellant’, insert
‘or applicant (as the case may
be)’.
No. 502,
in
clause 160, page 89, line 22, at
end insert—
‘(aa) an
application referred to the Secretary of State under section 12 instead
of being dealt with by a local planning authority in
England;’.
No.
503, in
clause 160, page 89, line 27, at
end insert—
‘(8) The
Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (7)
to—
(a)
add proceedings under this Act to, or remove
proceedings under this Act from, the list of proceedings to which this
section applies, or
(b)
otherwise modify the descriptions of proceedings under this Act to
which this section applies.
(9)
An order under subsection (8)
may—
(a) contain
incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional and transitory
provision and savings;
(b)
amend, repeal or revoke any provision made by or under this Act or by
or under any other
Act.”’.
No.
504, in
clause 160, page 89, line 29, leave
out ‘appeal’ and insert ‘certain
proceedings’.
No.
505, in
clause 160, page 89, line 31, leave
out from ‘which’ to ‘to’ in line 32 and
insert
‘proceedings to
which this section applies
are’.
No. 506,
in
clause 160, page 89, line 33, leave
out ‘appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No. 507, in
clause 160, page 89, line 40, leave
out ‘an appeal’ and insert
‘proceedings’.
No.
508, in
clause 160, page 89, line 41, leave
out from ‘period’ to end of line
42.
No. 509, in
clause 160, page 90, line 2, leave
out ‘appeal is’ and insert ‘proceedings
are’.
No. 510,
in
clause 160, page 90, line 4, after
‘appellant’ insert
‘or applicant (as the case may
be)’.
No. 511,
in
clause 160, page 90, line 7, at
end insert—
‘(7) This
section applies to—
(a)
an application referred to the Secretary of State under section 20
instead of being dealt with by a hazardous substances authority in
England;
(b) an appeal under
section 21 against a decision of a hazardous substances authority in
England.
(8) The Secretary of
State may by order amend subsection (7)
to—
(a) add proceedings
under this Act to, or remove proceedings under this Act from, the list
of proceedings to which this section applies,
or
(b) otherwise modify the
descriptions of proceedings under this Act to which this section
applies.
(9) An order under
subsection (8) may—
(a)
contain incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional and
transitory provision and
savings;
(b) amend, repeal or
revoke any provision made by or under this Act or by or under any other
Act.
(10) The power to make an
order under subsection (8) is exercisable by statutory
instrument.
(11) No order may
be made under subsection (8) unless a draft of the instrument
containing the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution
of, each House of
Parliament.’.
No.
512, in
clause 160, page 90, line 8, leave
out ‘appeals’ and insert
‘proceedings’.—[Mr.
Dhanda.]
Clause
160, as amended, ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
Schedule
5
Further
provisions as to the procedure for certain
appeals
Amendments
made: No. 514, in schedule 5, page 124, line 38, at end
insert—
‘1A In
section 77 (reference of applications to Secretary of State) for
subsection (6)
substitute—
“(6) Subsection
(5) does not apply
to—
(a) an application
for planning permission referred to a Planning Inquiry Commission under
section 101; or
(b) an
application referred to the Secretary of State under this section
instead of being dealt with by a local planning authority in
England.”’.
No.
515, in
schedule 5, page 125, line 36, leave
out ‘involving an
appeal’.
No.
516, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 11, leave
out ‘involving an
appeal’.
No.
517, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 12, leave
out ‘is’ and insert
‘are’.
No.
518, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 18, at
end insert—
‘11A (1) Amend
section 333 (regulations and orders) as follows.
(2) In subsection (4) for
“and 319” substitute “, 319 and
319A(9)”.
(3) After
subsection (5)
insert—
“(5A) No
order may be made under section 319A(9) unless a draft of the
instrument containing the order has been laid before, and approved by
resolution of, each House of
Parliament.”’.
No.
519, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 21, leave
out sub-paragraph
(2).
No. 520, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 26, leave
out ‘For sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph’ and insert
‘In paragraph 2 for sub-paragraph
(5)’.
No. 521,
in
schedule 5, page 126, line 31, at
end insert—
‘(3A) After
sub-paragraph (9) of that paragraph
insert—
“(10)
Sub-paragraph (9) does not apply to references to the Secretary of
State in section 319A (powers and duties of the Secretary of State in
relation to the determination of procedure for certain
proceedings).”’.
No.
522, in
schedule 5, page 126, line 37, at
end insert—
‘(5A) In the
case of an appeal to which section 319A applies, the Secretary of State
must give the appellant, the local planning authority and any person
who has made any representations mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) an
opportunity to make further representations if the reasons for the
direction raise matters with respect to which any of those
persons have not made
representations.”
(4A)
In sub-paragraph (6) of that paragraph after “(4)” insert
“or
(5A)”.’.
No.
523, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 2, at
end insert—
‘13A In section 12
(reference of applications to Secretary of State) after subsection (4)
insert—
“(4A) Subsection (4)
does not apply to an application referred to the Secretary of State
under this section instead of being dealt with by a local planning
authority in
England.”’.
No.
524, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 23, at
end insert—
‘19A (1) Amend
section 93 (regulations and orders) as
follows.
(2) In subsection (4)
after “75(7)” insert “,
88D(8)”.
(3) After
subsection (5)
insert—
“(5A) No
order may be made under section 88D(8) unless a draft of the instrument
containing the order has been laid before, and approved by resolution
of, each House of
Parliament.”’.
No.
525, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 26, leave
out sub-paragraph
(2).
No. 526, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 30, leave
out ‘After sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph’ and
insert ‘In paragraph 2 after sub-paragraph
(4)’.
No. 527,
in
schedule 5, page 127, line 31, leave
out ‘(5A)’ and insert
‘(4A)’.
No.
528, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 32, at
end insert—
‘(3A) After
sub-paragraph (8) of that paragraph
insert—
“(9)
Sub-paragraph (8) does not apply to references to the Secretary of
State in section 88D (powers and duties of the Secretary of State in
relation to the determination of procedure for certain
proceedings).”’.
No.
529, in
schedule 5, page 127, line 35, at
end insert—
‘(4B) In the
case of an appeal to which section 88D applies, the Secretary of State
must give the appellant, the local planning authority and any person
who has made any representations mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) an
opportunity to make further representations if the reasons for the
direction raise matters with respect to which any of those persons have
not made representations.”
(4A) In sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph after
“(4)” insert “or
(4B)”.’.
No.
530, in
schedule 5, page 128, line 4, at
end insert—
‘21A In section
20 (reference of applications to Secretary of State) after subsection
(4) insert—
“(4A)
Subsection (4) does not apply to an application referred to the
Secretary of State under this section instead of being dealt with by a
hazardous substances authority in
England.”’.
No.
531, in
schedule 5, page 128, line 21, leave
out sub-paragraphs (2) and
(3).
No. 532, in
schedule 5, page 128, line 25, leave
out ‘After sub-paragraph (4) of that paragraph’ and
insert ‘In paragraph 2 after sub-paragraph
(4)’.
No. 533,
in
schedule 5, page 128, line 27, at
end insert—
‘(4A) After
sub-paragraph (8) of that paragraph
insert—
“(9)
Sub-paragraph (8) does not apply to references to the Secretary of
State in section 21A (powers and duties of the Secretary of State in
relation to the determination of procedure for certain
proceedings).”’
No.
534, in
schedule 5, page 128, line 30, at
end insert—
‘(4B) In the
case of an appeal to which section 21A applies, the Secretary of State
must give the appellant, the hazardous substances authority and any
person who has made any representations mentioned in sub-paragraph (2)
an opportunity to make further representations if the reasons for the
direction raise matters with respect to which any of those persons have
not made
representations.”
(5A)
In sub-paragraph (5) of that paragraph after “(4)” insert
“or (4B)”.’.—[Mr.
Dhanda.]
Schedule
5, as amended, agreed
to.
Clause 161
ordered to stand part of the
Bill.
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