HC Deb 11 February 1942 vol 377 cc1531-5
The Minister without Portfolio (Mr. Arthur Greenwood)

The Government have had under consideration the best means of carrying out their pledge to establish a Central Planning Authority and have reached the following decisions. The existing statutory duties in regard to town and country planning, exercised by the Minister of Health in England and Wales, will be transferred to the Minister of Works and Buildings, whose title will, with His Majesty's approval, be changed to Minister of Works and Planning. The Minister's planning functions will be to guide the formulation by local authorities in England and Wales of town and country planning schemes which will adequately reflect the national policy for urban and rural development. The Ministry will be recognised as the Department which local authorities in England and Wales must consult on the general lines of town and country planning, and it will exercise the powers of the central Government under the Town and Country Planning Acts, including the powers which will be available under forthcoming legislation to give effect to the First Report of the Uthwatt Committee, and it will lay down the general principles to which town and country planning must conform. The Secretary of State for Scotland will be, responsible, as heretofore, for the exercise in Scotland of the functions in regard to planning to be exercised in England and Wales by the Minister of Works and Planning.

It is evident that the work of the Minister of Works and Planning and of the Secretary of State for Scotland will touch upon the work of other Departments of State at very many points. The Minister of Works and Planning and the Secretary of State will, therefore, be assisted by a committee of senior officials representing the Departments concerned. The main functions of this committee will be to ensure that, so far as possible, the national policy of urban and rural development is carried out as a single and consistent whole. Much of the work of interdepartmental co-ordination will be carried out by means of this committee of officials. Questions which cannot be settled by this committee will be dealt with by a committee of the Ministers concerned, under the chairmanship of the Minister without Portfolio by virtue of his special responsibilities for reconstruction matters generally, and will be settled by them unless reference to the War Cabinet is necessary. The Council of Ministers, the appointment of which was announced on 17th July, 1941, will be dissolved. It will of course be understood that these arrangements do not divest individual Ministers of their responsibility for taking action within the spheres of their respective Departments.

In reaching these decisions, the Government's intention has been to secure the most appropriate development and use of the land of this country, and they believe that by a procedure of this kind the various activities of the Departments concerned in post-war reconstruction, including the speedy provision of houses for those who need them, the redevelopment of devastated areas, the clearance of slums, the relief of overcrowding, the provision of all necessary public services and the general promotion of rural development in the light of a positive policy for the maintenance of a healthy and well-balanced agriculture, can be welded into a single and consistent policy. The Government will review, haling regard to subsequent developments and experience, the objectives stated in paragraph 4 of Section 428 of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Distribution of the Industrial Population, namely:

  1. "(a) Continued and further redevelopment of congested urban areas, where necessary
  2. (b) Decentralisation or dispersal, both of industries and industrial population, from congested areas.
  3. (c) Encouragement of a reasonable balance of industrial development, so far as possible, throughout the various divisions or regions of Great Britain, coupled with the appropriate diversification of industry in each division or region throughout the country."
The Government will study and concert, in the light of the review, the steps that should be taken to reach these objectives.

In furthering their policy for urban and rural development, the Government will seek to avoid measures which would interfere with the overriding aim of raising the standard of living to the highest possible level. In particular, the Government: (a) Will seek to ensure that fresh development is planned with due regard to the use which can be made of existing capital equipment and existing public services, and will not wantonly countenance the break-up of old and valuable industrial concentrations; (b) Will seek to avoid the diversion of productive agricultural land to other purposes if there is unproductive or less productive land that could reasonably be used for those purposes. The necessary legislation to give effect to these decisions will be introduced at an early date.

Major-General Sir Alfred Knox

Will the right hon. Gentleman state who wrote that essay?

Mr. Pethick-Lawrence

Are we to have a White Paper giving further details?

Mr. Greenwood

A Debate is taking place in another place to-day on the question. But I will consider the question of a White Paper, though the House might prefer a discussion in this Chamber.

Mr. Bossom

Will these matters be carried out by existing local authorities, or is it proposed to start new regional authorities to administer them?

Mr. Greenwood

Until we have arrived at a stage where there is some measure of agreement we shall work through the local authorities.

Mr. Bossom

Is it not a fact that local authorities have already been approached and asked whether they will have matters of this sort handled through larger regional authorities and not through the existing local authorities themselves? Only yesterday I believe that very point was raised in my own division.

Mr. Greenwood

That is a matter of co-operation which depends on agreement.

Viscountess Astor

Have the Government no plans for regional re-organisation?

Mr. Hopkinson

In view of the fact that it is a matter of doubt whether the next generation will live above ground or underground, cannot this proposal be described as flap-doodle from beginning to end.

Sir Francis Fremantle

Is it proposed to appoint an advisory planning committee of people outside who are tremendously interested and concerned and are responsible in these matters, as was the case with the Ministry of Health Advisory Housing Committee?

Mr. Greenwood

As a matter of fact the Minister of Works and Buildings has already got a series of committees covering the whole field of physical reconstruction.

Earl Winterton

Will the right hon. Gentleman make it quite clear that this new arrangement in no way derogates from the existing authority of all three Defence Departments to take land when they require it and erect buildings without reference to any other authority?

Mr. Greenwood

Not only in war time but also in peace time that would be a matter for information. There is no intention to interfere in any respect with those powers but as a matter of courtesy the necessary information would be conveyed to the Departments concerned.

Sir William Davison

Will the right hon. Gentleman expand what he has just said?

Mr. Maxton

The Minister has said that legislation will be introduced forthwith. Is it proposed that operations under the scheme shall be started immediately after the legislation is passed?

Mr. Greenwood

Yes, Sir Legislation will be necessary, I understand, to alter the title of the Ministry of Works and Buildings and also to transfer to the Minister the statutory powers now exercised by the Minister of Health.

Mr. Maxton

Is that all the scope of the legislation?

Mr. Greenwood

I have announced that legislation will be necessary in relation to certain aspects of the Report.

Mr. Logan

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the extravagant prices being asked for land required for re-housing in congested areas? Will that be taken into consideration by the Committee?

Mr. Greenwood

The Government has already announced its policy on this matter, and that aspect of the question is now under consideration by the Uthwatt Committee.

Mr. McKinlay

Will the Department of Health in Scotland continue to be the over-riding authority, irrespective of decisions taken by this Ministry?

Mr. Greenwood

This scheme has the whole-hearted approval of the Secretary of State. As regards physical planning, his powers will be as great as those of the Minister in England and Wales, but as regards questions affecting the location of industry and transport, they will have to be decided in co-operation with other Departments.

Mr. McKinlay

May I repeat my question? Will the Department of Health still be the over-riding authority in town and country planning in Scotland, without regard to any desire of the Ministry of Works and Buildings?

Mr. Greenwood

I have already said so. The answer is "Yes. Sir"