Reform bill set for committee stages

Susanna Gillman, Planning, 14 December 2007

The bill, which was led by local government minister John Healey, will now go before a public bill committee to be scrutinised. But the debate was still dominated by fears over the accountability of the IPC from MPs including former planning minister Keith Hill.

Communities secretary Hazel Blears maintained that democratic input into national policy statements, parliamentary scrutiny and thorough national debate would amount to "a robust form of accountability".

Meanwhile, details of the IPC costs are also causing contention. The government's impact assessment estimated that the panel will cost £5 million to set up and £9.3 million a year to run.

The savings to government and the Planning Inspectorate are put at £900,000 a year while scheme promoters would save an estimated £20.4 million a year.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England argued that it will be developers who benefit while taxpayers will pay more. It is also concerned that the IPC's workload appears to have been extended to about 45 major infrastructure projects a year rather than the ten forecast in the white paper.

This would require 35 commissioners and a staff of 75, it said. Planning campaigner Paul Miner said: "The government has not properly considered the scope of its proposals."