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In its report on the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, the Lords Constitution Committee says that clause 1 of the Bill, which gives ministers ‘unqualified’ power to make planning decisions on behalf of a designated local planning authority, lacks clarity and risks shifting too much power to the executive.
The committee thinks that government assurances that this power would only be used in exceptional circumstances are insufficient, saying that such assurances are ‘no firm basis on which to legislate’.
The report calls on the government to clarify exactly when the powers would be used.
Committee chairman Baroness Jay of Paddington said: “The Constitution Committee thinks that when significant powers over local decision-making are being transferred to central government it is important that there is clarity over when and how those powers might be used. It is not sufficient for the government simply to give assurances that they are likely to be rarely used; that must be clear in the legislation itself.”
She added: “We are making our report to the House of Lords ahead of committee stage of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill on 22 January to alert the House to our concerns and inform debate as the Bill progresses.”
The report is available online on the House of Lords Constitution Committee website.
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