committees of local authorities. They have done good work, and with that I think everybody would agree. If we consider the legacy left to these planning authorities, the legacy of 19th century chaos and ugliness, the almost insuperable problem which has faced these committees, we shall agree that they have done exceedingly well in many parts of the country in tackling the job. Not only had they the legacy of the ugliness of the 19th century with which to deal, but they had also the spate of building which was absolutely necessary after the last war. If ribbon development has taken place -- and a great mass of badly sited building has taken place -- we would be very unwise to put the responsibility absolutely on the planning authorities of the country. The Government themselves must take some share of the blame. They have not invested local planning authorities with the necessary powers, and to imply that planning committees have no sense of beauty or of public duty is a very harsh judgment upon men who have seriously tackled a very difficult job. It only shows how an hon. Member who has been for many years a consistent advocate or obsessed with one idea can take a very jaundiced view about other problems. I want to say a few words about the Bill itself. It proposes to do nothing else except to deal with that period in planning which elapses between the passing of a resolution and the coming into