Infrastructure Bill published

This entry examines the Infrastructure Bill.

In 2012 it was the Growth and Infrastructure Bill, but this time it is just the Infrastructure Bill - growth mission accomplished, clearly!

The bill can be found here. Unlike its predecessors that amended the Planning Act 2008, it is starting its parliamentary journey in the House of Lords, as HL Bill 2, session 55/4. That means it is the second bill to be published in the House of Lords this session, being the fourth session of the 55th parliament (since 1801). Now you know.

Although the bill is in the name of transport minister Baroness Kramer, the explanatory notes have been prepared by five different government departments, indicating the miscellaneous and cross-cutting nature of the bill.

The Government has its own bill page, here.

Probably most noticeable is that compared with the description of the bill accompanying the Queen's Speech last week, the bill does not contain anything about allowing fracking underneath land. This is likely to be because there is an ongoing consultation on the subject, and it would look better to add the relevant clauses in after the end of the consultation (which closes on 15 August - at 11.45pm, note) than have them in there and take them away. I don't think the bookies are offering much for them being inserted in due course.

What does the bill actually do, and how does it do it? Read on.

Bill provisions

Part 1 of the bill - clauses 1 to 15, and the first three schedules - deals with the Highways Agency. It allows the Government to create one or more 'strategic highways companies' (SHCs), limited by shares and wholly owned by the Government, responsible for all or part of England, setting out the highways in that area to be covered. It doesn't say so, but this - or these - will replace the Highways Agency, currenlty an agency of the Department for Transport, and the highways are likely to be trunk roads and motorways. Note to self: if preparing a development consent order (DCO) for a new trunk road, remember to add it to the list that the relevant SHC is responsible for. Interestingly, the bill contemplates the government still occasionally being highway authority for some highways.

The government will then set out a Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) covering a certain period (I would guess five years) for each SHC. This sounds quite like the High-level Output Specification (HLOS) that Network Rail is given for each five-year period. The Government may also issue guidance. An SHC can be fined for not complying with the RIS or guidance.

Under a clause headed simply 'Watchdog', the Passengers' Council has its remit extended to stand up for the interests of highway users - drivers as well as passengers, presumably. Its remit was extended from just rail passengers to include trams and coaches in 2010 (and the word 'Rail' removed from its name). Its operating name is 'Passenger Focus'.

Under the next clause headed 'Monitor', the Office of Rail Regulation has its remit extended to monitor how an SHC is complying with its RIS. (Shall we pronounce those 'shick' and 'wriss'?) The names of neither body are being changed (yet), though.

Part 2 - just one clause but taking up nine pages - deals with non-native species. It inserts a new schedule into the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. I think the definition of 'invasive non-native species' does exclude human beings from other countries, so this is not slipping in some anti-immigration legislation under another guise. Although 'invasive' includes having an adverse impact on social interests, since humans are ordinarily resident in Great Britain in a wild state - I've definitely spotted some of those - they are not 'non-native'.

There are voluntary 'species control agreements' that Natural England and the like can enter into with landowners, and then there are 'species control orders' where the landowner doesn't cooperate.

Part 3 - clauses 17 to 25 and the fourth schedule - deals with planning and land. Now we get to the Planning Act 2008 provisions. The first clause is about earlier appointment of inspectors. It simply removes the requirement to wait until the applicant has issued certificates at the end of the representation period from timing of the decision as to whether there should be a single inspector or a panel.

The second clause allows the appointment of two inspectors, by adding the word 'two' to the list of numbers of inspectors allowed on panels, plus some consequential amendments. One of these is to say that the lead member of the panel has a casting vote in the case of a tie. I'm not sure why that has been done because it already provides that, since there can be panels of four, although there only has been once so far.

The third and final clause is to amend the Schedule of the Planning Act 2008 that deals with changes to development consent orders after they have been granted. There are four minor changes. The first one looks like a correction, where applicants as well as the government have to comply with consultation and publicity provisions.

The second and fourth changes are a little cryptic and allow regulations to allow the Government or an applicant 'to exercise a discretion'. Not quite sure what the implications of that are but it sounds like the introduction of flexibility. The third change is to allow the Government to refuse an application to amend a DCO on the grounds that it should make a fresh application. The main powers to change and revoke DCOs are in regulations, which will be amended in due course.

Other planning and land-related measures are then set out. The first one is the slightly controversial 'deemed approval of discharge of planning conditions if the local authority doesn't do anything in time' provision. It is expressed in a fairly generic way, and involves the addition of yet another section to the already groaning Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Then there are provisions about the Homes and Commmunities Agency and the Land Registry.

Part 4 - clauses 26 to 28 and the fifth schedule - deals with energy. It introduces the 'community electricity right', giving communities the right to buy stakes in renewable energy facilities in, or (if offshore) adjacent to, their areas. That is all there is in that part - nothing about fracking, nor about a levy on the energy industry to pay for the regulator, which was also mentioned in the Queen's Speech explanation.

The bill ends with the usual 'general provisions' as clauses 29 to 32.

Next steps

The second reading of the bill, when the general principle to proceed with it will be debated and voted upon, will take place on Wednesday 18 June. The bons mots of Baroness Kramer and others will be reported soon afterwards.