§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what assessment he has made of the impact of removing the link between county councils and land use planning and(a) public service agreements, (b) local transport plans, (c) education development plans, (d) social services plans, (e) library plans, (f) waste management strategies and (g) community safety. [35429]
§ Ms KeebleThe Government do not propose to remove the link between county councils and land use planning. Partly because of the functions referred to by the hon. Member, the Planning Green Paper seeks views on the role that county councils can continue to play in the preparation of planning strategies at the regional and sub-regional level, and in assisting district councils with the preparation of Local Development Frameworks.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions how many tiers there are in the planning system and how many are proposed in the Green Paper. [35427]
§ Ms KeeblePlanning Guidance is produced at the national and regional level. In two-tier local authority areas plans are prepared at county level (structure plans) and by district authorities (local plans). In single-tier394W areas unitary authorities either produce a plan which incorporates both county and district plan functions (unitary development plans) or prepare a joint structure plan and a local plan.
Under our proposals set out in the Green Paper "Planning: delivering a fundamental change", we propose to simplify the existing arrangements by abolishing the structure plan tier of plans. They will be replaced, together with unitary development and local plans, by a new single level of plan called a Local Development Framework to be prepared by district and unitary authorities.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on how the Green Paper's proposals on planning will improve integration with other strategies and plans. [35428]
§ Ms KeebleThe Green Paper "Planning: delivering a fundamental change" sets out proposals for better integrated and more effective planning at both strategic and local levels. The new statutory Regional Spatial Strategy will take full account of the spatial planning aspects of other relevant regional strategies and provide the longer term planning framework for Regional Development Agencies and other regional stakeholders.
At the local level local authorities are already required to produce community strategies to provide an integrated approach to the improvement of the economic, social and environmental well being of their areas.
The core policies of the proposed Local Development Framework will help deliver the land use and development aspects of the Community Strategy, with action plans integrated with other initiatives, such as those for regeneration and neighbourhood renewal.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (1) for what reason the Green Paper on planning proposes county councils have no statutory role in planning; and what role county councils will have in promoting sustainable development; [35426]
(2) for what reason the Planning Green Paper states that boundary overlaps make county level planning no longer appropriate. [35430]
§ Ms KeebleThe Green Paper recognises the continuing need for strategic planning at regional level and for local planning to be undertaken as close to local communities as possible. It proposes abolition of structure plans but invites comments on whether the counties should have a role in assisting the regional, district and unitary authorities in preparing their plans (para 4.37). We propose that mineral and waste planning should continue to be a county function. In addition, county councils will continue to have responsibilities for other functions which bear upon sustainability such as countryside management and the preparation of local transport plans.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions for what reason he proposes to end the county councils' role in the development system. [35592]
395W
§ Ms KeebleThe Government do not propose to end the county councils' role in the development planning system. We are seeking views on the future planning role of the county councils in addition to their continuing responsibility for minerals and waste planning.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what reasons underlie his proposal to remove from the statutory consultees for planning decisions groups concerned with environmental protection or local interest which do not have a role in health and safety; and by what means he will ensure that the views of local people are taken into account in planning decisions. [35431]
§ Ms KeebleWe are concerned that the present arrangements for consulting expert bodies on planning and other cases are not working as effectively as they might. The distinction between statutory and non-statutory consultees has become blurred and consultation can often be a source of delay. One option proposed in our consultation paper "Planning: Delivering a Fundamental Change" is to clarify the basis of determining whether bodies should be statutory consultees and reduce their number. Decisions about which bodies might in future be statutory consultees will be made in the light of the consultation. The consultation paper also contains a number of proposals to promote better engagement of local communities in shaping the future development of their areas.
§ Mr. TyrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what action has been taken to identify where the delays in the planning process are; and if he will publish a list of(a) the average time taken to decide on planning applications by district, unitary and county councils and (b) the average time taken for Ministers to decide on call in decisions in the last 12 months. [35432]
§ Ms KeebleThe Government have reviewed the planning system and published a Green Paper "Planning: delivering a fundamental change" which sets out a range of measures and proposals to deliver a faster, simpler, more accessible planning system for business and local communities.
The average time for local authorities to decide planning applications in 2000–01 was 11.7 weeks. Detailed information for each local authority is published in "The Best Value and Audit Commission Performance Indicators Actual Outturn Data 2000–01".
Performance on the issuing of called-in applications is measured as the proportion decided within 13 and 20 weeks of receiving the Inspector's Report. In 2001–02, 61 per cent. of called-in planning applications were decided in 13 weeks and 73 per cent. were decided in 20 weeks.