Appendix 5
S.I. 2012/637: memorandum from the Department
for Communities and Local Government
Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations
2012
(S.I. 2012/637)
1. The Committee has requested a memorandum on
the following points:
(1) Given the possibility that different working
hours, which cannot be assumed to be known to senders of representations,
may be operated not only among different organisations but also
among different employees within the same organisation, why is
regulation 4(3) included in the Regulations without further qualification?
(2) Having regard to regulation 29(2), what is the
sanction or other method of enforcement in respect of the duty
under regulation 29(1)?
Regulation 4(3) - 'normal working hours'
2. Regulation 4(3) provides that where an electronic
'communication is received by the recipient outside normal working
hours' it shall be taken to have been received on the next working
day. Working day is defined in regulation 4(4).
3. The expression 'normal working hours' is a
common English expression which may refer to a business's hours.
Here it is referring to the recipient's business hours.
4. In terms of knowledge of the sender, it is
common for statutory instruments to include provision similar
to the one in regulation 4(3) (for example, article 1(10) of S.I.
1995 / 418) which assumes the sender knows or can discover the
business hours of the person to whom they are sending their email
or other electronic communication.
5. In terms of whose working hours the provision
relates, we consider it is clear that regulation 4(3) is referring
to the working hours of the body itself, not those of individual
employees. The provision states: "where the communication
is received by the recipient outside normal working hours".
We do not consider a reader could interpret the provision as
referring to the working hours of employees of the recipient.
6. We consider the expression 'normal working
hours' is clear and understandable to readers.
Regulation 29 - sanction for failure to issue
notice
7. Regulation 28 gives a community organisation
the power to switch off enfranchisement rights in relation to
certain properties. The policy intention underlying this provision
is to give community organisations the ability to hold properties
for the benefit of the community in perpetuity. If not disapplied
enfranchisement rights would allow a tenant to purchase a property
from a community organisation (under one of the enfranchisement
rights). The intention behind regulation 29(2) was to ensure
that a property should not be subject to enfranchisement rights,
and thereby the potential loss of perpetually held community property,
merely due to an administrative failure to serve the notice required
in regulation 29(1).
8. There are no sanctions against the landlord
for failure to serve the regulation 29(1) notice. We consider
that the requirement will be effective without a sanction, but
we will keep this provision under review and we will consider
introducing a sanction if evidence suggests landlords are ignoring
the requirement.
9. The
Department is grateful to the Committee for raising these points.
Department for Communities and Local Government
22 May 2012
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