PLANNING BILL AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Early day motion 605, tabled 17 December 2007 by Paul Truswell (Labour). Signed by 106 members.

That this House welcomes the Government's stated intention of improving public involvement in the Major Infrastructure Projects (MIPs) planning process; believes that the Planning Bill and the legitimacy of MIP decisions would be considerably strengthened if they retained the existing public right to appear at inquiries and meaningfully scrutinise proposals; considers that this right should also be extended to the public consultation process on National Policy Statements; regrets the value of pre-application public consultation by applicants as limited unless it is backed by a clearly defined and binding guidance and a requirement to report on issues raised during consultation and action taken on them; and calls on the Government to strengthen the provision for public involvement by ensuring impartial and transparent framework for consultation and by encouraging active measures to encourage participation.

Signatures by party: Labour 59, Liberal Democrat 43, Independent 1, Respect 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.