Growth Bill risks shifting power from councils, say Lords

The Committee said in the report that clause 1 of the Bill, which proposed to allow designation of local planning authorities as 'poorly performing' and for major applications to these authorities to be directed to the Planning Inspectorate instead, would create a centralised form of decision-making at the expense of localism.

"To a considerable extent, the existing system reflects and reinforces a commitment to local accountability and responsiveness in the planning process," the report said.

The Committee said that the Government's assurances that the new power would only be used in exceptional circumstances are insufficient and that such assurances are "no firm basis on which to legislate" and are no "proper substitute for clarity in the statutory provision".

"In our view, the Government's own policy intention of designation under clause 1 only in exceptional cases should be made clear on the face of the Bill," the report said. "The House may also wish to consider whether the criteria and procedures for making or revoking a designation should be set out in secondary legislation."

"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," said the Committee's chairman, Baroness Jay of Paddington. "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."

The Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 8 January and Committee stage is due to commence tomorrow. Baroness Jay said the Committee is making its report to the House of Lords ahead of Committee stage "to alert the House to our concerns and inform debate as the Bill progresses".