‘March of the quangos’ will silence voice of local people, warns Bob Blackman
Yet more planning
powers taken from councils and given to unelected bodies
Bob Blackman expressed his concern about a raft of
new laws before Parliament which will take away power from local people across Harrow on planning issues, and impose a host of unelected planning
quangos on them. The upshot could be unsustainable development, overriding
local opinion and harming the local environment.
Gordon Brown’s
new quangos include:
- The new unelected Homes & Communities Agency, with
powers to seize land, enter private property and act as its own planning
authority
- The new Infrastructure Planning Commission, which will take
complete control of planning permissions for large developments like airports,
power stations, motorways, sewage plants and hazardous landfill sites: the
types of development which rightly concern local people so much.
- And unelected Regional Development Agencies which (outside London) will adopt
all the powers of the unelected Regional Assemblies, but with no local
councillor involvement.
Ministers have
confirmed in recent answers to Parliamentary Questions that local councils and
elected MPs will have absolutely no say on the appointments of any of
these quangocrats. This is despite Gordon Brown’s pledge last May to stop
politics becoming a ‘spectator sport’ and build trust in democracy.
Bob Blackman said,
“After ten
years of Labour, the number of people who own their home is now falling for the
first time. Labour’s planning laws and Whitehall targets have
clogged up the planning system, and weakened the say of local residents. Ever
higher stamp duty and soaring council tax bills have made it so difficult for
people in Harrow
to
get a foot on the first rung of the housing ladder.
“Gordon Brown
is now showing his true control freak instincts with an army of new quangos on
the march. The planning system needs reform, but the voice of local communities
must be loud and clear. Conservatives will stand up for Harrow and protect
local democracy.”
Notes to
Editors
HOUSING & COMMUNITIES AGENCY
The Housing and Regeneration
Bill currently before Parliament will create a new ‘Homes and Communities
Agency’. The quango will have powers to acquire land, compulsory purchase
properties, act as the local planning authority for any designated area, and
enter and survey private property.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmbills/008/08008.i-v.html
INFRASTUCTURE PLANNING COMMISSION
The Planning Bill
currently before Parliament will create a new ‘Infrastructure Planning
Commission’. This new central quango will strip local authorities of their say
on major planning applications on power stations, electricity pylons,
pipelines, motorways, airports, harbours, rail lines, rail freight
interchanges, dams, reservoirs, sewage, large incinerators, hazardous waste
facilities. It has powers to build over the Green Belt, demolish listed
buildings, compulsory purchase of land, and ignore planning rules and guidance.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmbills/011/08011.i-v.html
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES
Currently, the RDAs
solely focus on economic development and giving out grants. The Board of each
RDA are appointed, not elected. The Government is to transfer the regional
planning and housing powers of the unelected Regional Assemblies to the RDAs
(Except in London,
where the Mayor of London will soon have stronger powers to interfere in
planning decisions made by local boroughs). The RDAs will draw up new
‘integrated’ Regional Plans, including building targets and removing Green Belt
protection, which will be binding on local councils.
Hansard,
15 January 2008, col. 1216W.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080115/text/80115w0031.htm#08011616000065
Hansard,
5 December 2007, col. 1250W.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm071205/text/71205w0010.htm#column_1249W
QUANGOCRATS APPOINTED BY MINISTERS
Labour Ministers have
admitted into answers to Parliamentary Questions by Conservatives that neither
elected Members of Parliament nor local councils will have any say over the
appointment of these quangocrats:
“Tony
Baldry (Con): Whether Parliament and local authorities will have a role in the
appointment of members of the restructured regional development agencies, the
Homes and Communities Agency and the Infrastructure Planning Commission.
The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
(Mr. Parmjit Dhanda): Appointment of members to the boards of those bodies and
proposed bodies would be made by Ministers, on merit, in accordance with the
Commissioner for Public Appointments’ code and guidance. There are no current plans for either Parliament or local authorities
to play a direct role in those appointments processes.”
Hansard,
15 January 2008, col. 783.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmhansrd/cm080115/debtext/80115-0003.htm#08011598000872
GORDON BROWN’S BROKEN PROMISE
These new quangos
contradict Gordon Brown’s pledge to give local people more power:
“To those who feel Westminster
is a distant place and politics simply a spectator sport... I want to become a
voice for communities far beyond ... to build trust in our democracy, we need a
more open form of dialogue for citizens and politicians to genuinely debate
problems and solutions” (Gordon Brown, Speech
accepting the nomination as Leader of the Labour Party, 17 May 2007).
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