Further changes to planning system in prospect following Queen's Speech

May 19, 2016

Further reforms to the planning system, changes to how the courts and local authorities approach adoption and new powers for councils to tackle extremism were among the key measures unveiled in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech.

The main elements of the Neighbourhood Planning and Infrastructure Bill are to be:

Neighbourhood Planning: the Bill will "further strengthen neighbourhood planning and give even more power to local people"; it will also strengthen neighbourhood planning by making the local government duty to support groups more transparent and by improving the process for reviewing and updating plans.
Planning Conditions: the Bill will ensure that pre-commencement planning conditions are only imposed by local planning authorities where they are absolutely necessary – "excessive pre-commencement planning conditions can slow down or stop the construction of homes after they have been given planning permission"; the legislation will "tackle the overuse, and in some cases, misuse of certain planning conditions, and thereby ensure that development, including new housing, can get underway without unnecessary delay".
Compulsory Purchase: the legislation will make the compulsory purchase order process "clearer, fairer and faster" for all those involved; there will be reform of the context within which compensation is negotiated; the Government's proposals, on which it has already consulted, would consolidate and clarify more than 100 years of conflicting statute and case law; "we would establish a clear, new statutory framework for agreeing compensation, based on the fundamental principle that compensation should be based on the market value of the land in the absence of the scheme underlying the compulsory purchase".
National Infrastructure Commission: the Bill will establish the independent National Infrastructure Commission on a statutory basis; the Commission is to provide the Government with expert, independent advice on infrastructure issues "by setting out a clear, strategic vision on the future infrastructure that is needed to ensure the UK economy is fit for 2050"; measures will "unlock economic potential across the UK and ensure that growth and opportunities are distributed across the country, boosting productivity and competitiveness through high-quality infrastructure".
Land Registry: The new legislation will enable the privatisation of Land Registry, which will "support the delivery of a modern, digitally-based land registration service that will benefit the Land Registry’s customers, such as people buying or selling their home"; it could also return a capital receipt to the Exchequer to help reduce national debt.

Responding to the Bill, Cllr Peter Box, planning spokesman at the Local Government Association, said: “The planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding. Councils approve almost nine out of 10 planning applications and the number of homes being granted planning permission by local authorities during 2015 was 253,000, the highest level since 2007.

“We support the intention to improve the process for reviewing and updating neighbourhood plans but are clear that any additional requirements on councils should be fully funded.”

Cllr Box argued that there was little evidence to suggest development was being delayed by planning conditions. “Planning conditions provide a vital role, enabling planning permissions to go ahead which would otherwise be refused or delayed while the details are worked out. They can also save developers time and money as they do not need to invest in detailed submissions until the principle of the development is granted.”

He added that the LGA supported measures to free up new land for homes. “Reforms to compulsory purchase orders could pave the way for councils to capture the value from increased land prices to invest in the vital infrastructure that boosts housebuilding and creates places that people want to live,” Cllr Box said.

The Children and Social Work Bill will meanwhile change the considerations that courts must take into account in adoption decisions, “tipping the balance in favour of permanent adoption where that is the right thing for the child”. This will involve "taking better account of a child's need for stability up to the age of 18 when making decisions about their future".

There will also be a duty on local authorities and schools to promote educational achievement for adopted children and those in the long-term care of family members or guardians.

The legislation will introduce a new system of regulating social workers by setting up a specialist regulator for the profession “with a clear focus on driving improvement and introducing more demanding professional standards”.

There will also be a new ‘Care Leavers Covenant’, underpinned by statutory duties, aimed at making sure local authorities set out clearly the entitlements for care leavers – including housing, jobs and healthcare.

The Bill will additionally seek to better protect children by ensuring that lessons are learned from serious child safeguarding cases, and support innovation in children’s social care “by allowing local authorities to pilot new, innovative approaches”.

The Counter-Extremism and Safeguarding Bill will introduce stronger powers to disrupt extremists and protect the public.

Amongst other things it will introduce powers to intervene in intensive unregulated education settings “which teach hate and drive communities apart”, and bring in a new civil order regime to restrict extremist activity following consultation. The Disclosure and Barring Service will be given stronger powers.

The Government will also consult on powers to enable government to intervene where councils fail to tackle extremism.

Significant elements of other key bills relevant or of interest to local government are:

Local Growth and Jobs Bill: this will allow councils to retain 100% of the business rates they collect and set out the responsibilities that will be devolved to them; it will also allow combined authority mayors to levy business rate supplements in order to fund infrastructure projects where there is the support of local business.
Education for All Bill: this will involve moving towards a system where every school is an academy through powers to convert schools to academies “in under-performing and unviable local authorities”; the process of becoming an academy will be made swifter and smoother for schools and local authorities; a new role for local authorities will be set out “by shifting responsibility for school improvement from the LA to great heads and others in the school system”; a new funding formula will be introduced “to deliver fair funding for every school and pupil in the country”; other measures will make schools accountable for the provision and progress of their excluded pupils.
Bus Services Bill: local authorities will be able to use new powers to set required standards of service with bus providers, including branding, ticketing and the frequencies of services; new powers to franchise services will also be made available to combined authorities with directly elected mayors to allow them to take control of their services as Transport for London does in London – applications from other local authorities will be considered on a case by case basis.
Bill of Rights: this will “support and reinforce Britain’s long-standing commitment to human rights and restore common sense to the way human rights law is applied”. The legislation will include: measures to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework and protections against “abuse of the system and misuse of human rights laws”. The rights in the Bill will be “based on those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights, while also taking into account our common law tradition”.
Criminal Finances Bill: this will include measures to reform proceeds of crime legislation to allow the Government to recoup more illicit income.
Policing and Crime Bill: this will include a new duty on all three emergency services “to collaborate, to improve efficiency and effectiveness”; chief officers will be given new authority to designate wider powers on police staff and volunteers, “so they can make best use of their workforce”; Police and Crime Commissioners will be given a stronger oversight role over local complaints, “giving them an explicit responsibility for ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of the local police complaints system"; HM Inspector of Constabulary’s remit will be extended to enable it to inspect private contractors.
Investigatory Powers Bill: this will plug gaps “in the abilities of law enforcement agencies to monitor people’s online communications when investigating crime or terrorism”; introduce “tough new safeguards” for the use of investigatory powers; and establish a “world-leading” oversight regime of law enforcement agencies and the security services.
National Citizen Service Bill: this will include a new statutory framework to deliver the National Citizen Service programme, which will benefit from a £1.2bn cash injection; there will be a new duty on schools and local authorities to promote the scheme to all young people and their parents.
Digital Economy Bill: this will give every household a legal right to a fast broadband connection; new laws will help telecommunications providers build the infrastructure needed for faster broadband and better mobile networks; the legislation will allow consumers to be automatically compensated when things go wrong with their broadband service.
Higher Education and Research Bill: this will include measures to "make it easier for new high quality universities to open"; reform university funding to link funding for universities to the quality of teaching rather than student numbers, “with graduate employment prospects tracked so students can be sure they are getting value for money”; new requirements will be imposed on all universities to publish detailed information about application, offer and progression rates, broken down by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background.
NHS (Overseas Visitors Charging) Bill: this will contain measures to ensure cost recovery is effective and efficient and the full cost of care is recovered; it will also extend the number of services for which the NHS can charge overseas visitors and migrants; and mean that fewer people coming to the UK from the EEA are eligible for free NHS healthcare.

The background notes to the Queen’s Speech can be viewed here.