Localism Bill

House of Commons

Session 2010 - 11
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Other Bills before Parliament

Localism Bill

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
319

(b)
for “its functions” (in both places) substitute “the Secretary of State’s
major-infrastructure functions”.
      (4)
After subsection (3) insert—
“(4)
In this section “the Secretary of State’s major-infrastructure
functions” means—
5
(a)
the Secretary of State’s functions under Parts 2 to 8 and under
Part 12 so far as applying for the purposes of those Parts,
(b)
the giving of advice to which section 51 applies, and
(c)
the Secretary of State’s functions, in relation to proposed
applications for orders granting development consent, under
10
statutory provisions implementing—
(i)
Council Directive 85/337/EC on the assessment of
the effects of certain public and private projects on the
environment, as amended from time to time, or
(ii)
provisions of an EU instrument which from time to
15
time replace provisions of that Directive.
(5)
In subsection (4)(c) “statutory provision” means a provision of an Act
or of an instrument made under an Act.”
      (5)
In the heading of Part 1 for “The Infrastructure Planning Commission”
substitute “Infrastructure planning: fees”.
20
Directions referring applications for other consents to Commission
4
In section 35(6) (relevant authority must refer application to Commission)
for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
Applications for orders granting development consent
5     (1)
Amend section 37 (applications to be made to Commission, which may give
25
guidance about their contents and set standards for them) as follows.
      (2)
For “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
In subsection (6) for “it” substitute “the Secretary of State”.
Model provisions for incorporation in draft orders
6
Omit section 38 (Secretary of State may prescribe non-compulsory model
30
provisions).
Register of applications
7     (1)
Amend section 39 (Commission to maintain and give access to register of
applications) as follows.
      (2)
For “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
35
      (3)
In subsections (1) and (2) for “it” substitute “the Secretary of State”.
Notification of proposed application
8     (1)
Amend section 46 (duty to notify Commission of proposed application) as
follows.

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
320

      (2)
In subsection (1) for “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of
State”.
      (3)
In the heading for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
Guidance about pre-application procedure
9
In section 50(2) (guidance may be issued by Commission or Secretary of
5
State) omit “the Commission or”.
Advice for potential applicants and others
10    (1)
Section 51 (giving of advice by Commission and disclosure of advice and
requests for advice) is amended as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (1) for “The Commission may give advice to an applicant or
10
potential applicant, or to others,” substitute “This section applies to advice”.
      (3)
For subsections (2) to (4) substitute—
“(3)
The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision about the
giving of advice to which this section applies.
(4)
In particular, regulations under subsection (3) may make provision
15
that has the effect that—
(a)
a request for advice made by an applicant, potential applicant
or other person, or
(b)
advice given to an applicant, potential applicant or other
person,
20

must be, or may be, disclosed by the Secretary of State to other
persons or to the public generally.”
Information about, and entry onto, land
11
In section 52(2) and (4) (authorisation by Commission to serve notice
requiring names and addresses of persons with interests in land) for
25
“Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
12    (1)
Amend section 53 (rights of entry) as follows.
      (2)
In subsections (1) and (2) (Commission may authorise entry) for
“Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
In subsection (4)(c) for “Commission’s” substitute “Secretary of State’s”.
30
Acceptance of applications
13    (1)
Amend section 55 (acceptance by Commission of applications) as follows.
      (2)
For “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
In subsections (2), (4) and (6) for “it” (in each place) substitute “the Secretary
of State”.
35
      (4)
In subsection (7)—
(a)
for “it cannot accept the application, it” substitute “the application
cannot be accepted, the Secretary of State”, and
(b)
in paragraph (b) for “its” substitute “the Secretary of State’s”.

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
321

14
In section 56 (if Commission accepts application, applicant to notify
deadline for receipt by Commission of representations) for “Commission”
(in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
15
In section 58(1) and (2) (applicant must certify to Commission that section 56
has been complied with) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
5
16
In section 59(1) and (2) (applicant must notify Commission of persons
affected by any request to authorise compulsory acquisition) for
“Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
17    (1)
Amend section 60 (Commission’s duty to seek local impact reports) as
follows.
10
      (2)
For “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
In subsection (2) for “to it” substitute “to the Secretary of State”.
Deciding how application is to be handled
18    (1)
Amend section 61 (initial choice of Panel or single Commissioner) as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (1) (which refers to acceptance of an application by the
15
Commission) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
For subsections (2) to (5) (person appointed to chair Commission must make
initial choice after consultation within the Commission and having regard to
Secretary of State’s guidance) substitute—
“(2)
The Secretary of State must decide whether the application—
20
(a)
is to be handled by a Panel under Chapter 2, or
(b)
is to be handled by a single appointed person under Chapter
3.
(3)
The Secretary of State must publish the criteria that are to be applied
in making decisions under subsection (2).”
25
      (4)
In the heading for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
19    (1)
Amend section 62 (switching from single Commissioner to Panel) as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (1), and in the heading, for “Commissioner” substitute
“appointed person”.
      (3)
For subsections (2) to (5) (person appointed to chair Commission may make
30
switch after consultation within the Commission and having regard to the
Secretary of State’s guidance) substitute—
“(2)
The Secretary of State may decide that the application should instead
be handled by a Panel under Chapter 2.
(3)
The Secretary of State must publish the criteria that are to be applied
35
in making decisions under subsection (2).”
Delegation of functions conferred on person appointed to chair Commission
20
Omit section 63 (power for Commission’s chair to delegate functions under
Part 6 to a deputy).

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
322

Handling of applications by a Panel
21
In section 64(1)(a) (which refers to an application accepted by the
Commission) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
22    (1)
Amend section 65 (appointment of members, and lead member, of Panel) as
follows.
5
      (2)
For subsection (1) (Commission chair must appoint Panel and Panel chair)
substitute—
“(1)
The Secretary of State must appoint—
(a)
three, four or five persons to be members of the Panel, and
(b)
one of those persons to chair the Panel.”
10
      (3)
Omit subsections (3) to (5) (self-appointments, and duty to consult within
the Commission before making appointments).
23    (1)
Amend section 66 (ceasing to be member, or lead member, of Panel) as
follows.
      (2)
Omit subsection (1) (generally, person ceases to be Panel member on ceasing
15
to be a Commissioner).
      (3)
In subsections (3) and (4) (member, or lead member, may resign by notice to
Commission) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (4)
In subsection (5) (Commission chair may remove Panel member or lead
member)—
20
(a)
for “person appointed to chair the Commission (“the chair”)”
substitute “Secretary of State”, and
(b)
in paragraphs (a) and (b) for “chair” substitute “Secretary of State”.
24
Omit section 67 (Panel member continuing though ceasing to be
Commissioner).
25
25    (1)
Amend section 68 (additional appointments to Panel) as follows.
      (2)
For subsection (2) (Commission chair may appoint additional Panel
member) substitute—
“(2)
The Secretary of State may appoint a person to be a member of the
Panel, but this power may not be exercised so as to cause the panel
30
to have more than five members.”
      (3)
In subsection (3) (Commission chair must ensure Panel continues to have at
least three members) for “person appointed to chair the Commission”
substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (4)
Omit subsection (5) (self-appointments).
35
26    (1)
Amend section 69 (replacement of lead member of Panel) as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (2) (Commission chair must make appointment to fill vacancy
in office of lead member) for “person appointed to chair the Commission”
substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
Omit subsection (4) (self-appointments).
40

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
323

27
Omit section 70 (membership of Panel where application relates to land in
Wales).
28    (1)
Amend section 71 (supplementary provision where Panel replaces single
Commissioner) as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (2) (single Commissioner may be appointed member, or
5
member and lead member, of Panel) for “A Commissioner who has handled
the application under Chapter 3” substitute “An appointed person”.
      (3)
In subsection (3) (power to treat things done by or to single Commissioner
as done by or to Panel) for “a Commissioner” substitute “an appointed
person”.
10
      (4)
After subsection (4) insert—
“(5)
In this section “appointed person” means a person appointed to
handle the application under Chapter 3.”
      (5)
In the heading for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
29    (1)
Amend section 74 (Panel to decide, or make recommendations in respect of,
15
application) as follows.
      (2)
Omit subsection (1) (cases in which Panel has function of deciding
application).
      (3)
In subsection (2) (cases in which Panel has function of examining application
and reporting on it to the Secretary of State) for “In any other case, the Panel”
20
substitute “The Panel”.
      (4)
Omit subsection (4) (duty of Commission staff to give support to Panel).
Single-Commissioner procedure to become single-appointed-person procedure
30    (1)
Amend section 78 (single Commissioner to handle application) as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (1)(a) (which refers to an application accepted by the
25
Commission) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (3)
In subsection (1)(b) (which refers to decision that application be handled by
a single Commissioner) for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
      (4)
In subsection (2) (meaning of “the single Commissioner”) for
“Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
30
      (5)
In the heading, and in the italic heading immediately preceding the section,
for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
      (6)
In the heading of Chapter 3 of Part 6 for “single-Commissioner” substitute
“ single-appointed-person”.
31
For section 79 (Commission chair must appoint single Commissioner)
35
substitute—
“79
Appointment of single appointed person
The Secretary of State must appoint a person to handle the
application.”
32    (1)
Amend section 80 (person ceasing to be single Commissioner) as follows.
40

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
324

      (2)
Omit subsection (1) (generally, person ceases to be single Commissioner on
ceasing to be a Commissioner).
      (3)
In subsection (2) (single Commissioner may resign by notice to
Commission)—
(a)
for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”, and
5
(b)
for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
      (4)
In subsection (3) (Commission chair may remove single Commissioner)—
(a)
for “person appointed to chair the Commission (“the chair”)”
substitute “Secretary of State”,
(b)
for “Commissioner” (in both places) substitute “appointed person”,
10
and
(c)
for “if the chair” substitute “if the Secretary of State”.
      (5)
In the heading for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
33
Omit section 81 (single Commissioner continuing though ceasing to be
Commissioner).
15
34
In section 82 (appointment of replacement single Commissioner) for
“Commissioner” (in each place, including in the heading) substitute
“appointed person”.
35    (1)
Amend section 83 (single Commissioner to examine and report on
application) as follows.
20
      (2)
In subsections (1) and (3), in the heading, and in the italic heading
immediately preceding the section, for “Commissioner” (in each place,
including in the word “Commissioner’s”) substitute “appointed person”.
      (3)
In subsection (1)(b) (duty to make report) after “making a report” insert “to
the Secretary of State”.
25
      (4)
Omit subsection (2) (report to be made to the Commission in some cases and
to the Secretary in other cases).
      (5)
Omit subsection (4) (duty of Commission staff to support single
Commissioner).
36
Omit sections 84 and 85 (procedure where single Commissioner’s report
30
made to Commission) and the italic heading immediately preceding section
84.
Examination of applications
37
In section 86 (Chapter applies to examination by Panel or single
Commissioner), and in its heading, for “Commissioner” (in each place)
35
substitute “appointed person”.
38
Omit section 87(2)(b) (Examining authority to have regard to guidance given
by Secretary of State or Commission).
39
In section 92 (notifying Commission that compulsory acquisition hearing
wanted) for “Commission” (in each place) substitute “Secretary of State”.
40
40
In section 93 (notifying Commission that open-floor hearing wanted) for
“Commission” (in both places) substitute “Secretary of State”.

Localism Bill
Schedule 13 — Infrastructure Planning Commission: transfer of functions to Secretary of State
Part 1 — Amendments of the Planning Act 2008
325

41
In section 94(2)(b) (Panel member or single Commissioner to preside over
hearing) for “Commissioner” substitute “appointed person”.
42
After section 95 insert—
“95A
Hearings: defence and national security
(1)
Subsection (2) applies if the Secretary of State is satisfied that if all or
5
part of the Examining Authority’s examination of the application
takes the form of a meeting or hearing—
(a)
the making of particular oral representations at such a
meeting or hearing would be likely to result in the disclosure
of information as to defence or national security, and
10
(b)
the public disclosure of that information would be contrary
to the national interest.
(2)
The Secretary of State may direct that representations of a
description specified in the direction may be made only to persons of
a description so specified (instead of being made in public).
15
(3)
If the Secretary of State gives a direction under subsection (2), the
Attorney General (or where the representations are to be made in
Scotland) the Advocate General for Scotland may appoint a person
(an “appointed representative”) to represent the interests of an
interested party who (by virtue of the direction) is prevented from
20
being present when the representations are made.
(4)
Rules under section 97 may (in particular) make provision as to the
functions of an appointed representative.
(5)
The Secretary of State may direct a person (a “responsible person”) to
pay the fees and expenses of an appointed representative if the
25
Secretary of State thinks that the responsible person is interested in a
meeting or hearing in relation to any representations that are the
subject of a direction under subsection (2).
(6)
Subsections (7) and (8) apply if the Secretary of State gives a direction
under subsection (5).
30
(7)
If the appointed representative and the responsible person are
unable to agree the amount of the fees and expenses, the amount
must be determined by the Secretary of State.
(8)
The Secretary of State must cause the amount agreed between the
appointed representative and the responsible person, or determined
35
by the Secretary of State, to be certified.
(9)
An amount so certified is recoverable from the responsible person as
a civil debt.
(10)
In this section “representations” includes evidence.”
43
In section 96(1)(c) (which refers to representations received by the
40
Commission) for “Commission” substitute “Secretary of State”.
44    (1)
Amend section 98 (timetable for examining, and reporting on, application)
as follows.
      (2)
In subsection (3) (deadline for making report to Secretary of State) for the
words from the beginning to “its report” substitute “The Examining
45