CERTIFICATE OF LAWFUL USE OR DEVELOPMENT. (Hansard, 19 June 1991)

§ Mr. Soley

I beg to move amendment No. 126, in page 16, line 28, at end insert— '(8) There shall be no fee for submitting applications under section 192.'. The amendment seeks to ensure that no fee is charged for submitting an application under section 192 of the parent Act, which refers to applications for planning permission under section 69 of that Act and to certificates of lawfulness of existing use or development.

As we are talking about circumstances in which a person wishes to find out whether he already has permission, the provision involves the right to know—the right to information—and it seems wrong that a fee should be charged. I should like to hear the Minister's response to our view that it is wrong to charge someone a fee for providing him with information affecting his current position and that that information ought to be available free of charge.

§ Mr. Yeo

I shall try to be equally brief. I appreciate the reason behind the amendment, but I am sorry to tell the hon. Gentleman that we intend to resist it.

We consulted widely about the implementation of the provisions of clause 10, including the possibility of a fee for new section 192 applications. Our view is that, because a "lawful development certificate" granted under the new provisions would be a more valuable and significant document to the applicant than a favourable determination under the present section 64, a fee for the service is justified. More work will be involved for the local authorities in operating the new procedure. For instance, they will have to investigate the lawfulness of existing uses or works on the land and the terms of any planning permission that may exist.

We therefore think it reasonable for planning authorities to be able to charge a fee for that administrative work. We also believe that most developers will accept that it is reasonable to pay a fee as the price for obtaining an authority's considered opinion as to whether their proposal needs planning permission. If a certificate is granted, they will be able to rely on it as an assurance that planning permission is not required. In some cases, that will save them from having to submit a planning application to the local authority.

We are considering the responses to the consultation paper that we issued in January. No final decision has been taken on the proposal to charge a fee. We recognise the need to announce our intentions for implementing the provisions of clause 10, including our intention as regards enabling planning authorities to charge a fee for certificate applications. We hope to make an announcement about that before the summer recess, which would also state when the provisions could be brought into force. Charging a fee for the new section 192 applications would require my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to lay fees regulations before Parliament and those who oppose the idea would have an opportunity to object.

I hope that hon. Members will accept that it is not unreasonble to enable planning authorities to charge a fee to help cover the costs of the new service, which will be of 365 considerable benefit to the people who use it. For that reason, I invite the hon. Gentleman not to press the amendment.