§ Mr. RoweTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the(a) powers, (b) responsibilities and (c) budget to be delegated to local councils as part of the proposals for greater decentralisation set out in the document "Planning for Communities: Transitional Arrangements for Regional Planning Guidance and Development Plans". [47068]
§ Mr. RaynsfordUnder the proposals set out in "The future of Regional Planning Guidance" consultation paper published in January, responsibility for the production of draft Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) will be transferred to the regional planning conferences of local authorities. Following an independent public examination of the draft RPG, final guidance will be formally issued by the Secretary of State. As these arrangements are non-statutory, no powers can be transferred to local authorities. There is no separate budgetary provision. However, we have already indicated that the main additional costs of holding the public examination will be met directly by my Department. The preparation of development plans remains the statutory responsibility of local authorities.