Business and Planning Bill — House of Commons, 2020-06-29
Topic: Transportation
Eleanor Fulton Laing (Conservative, Centre-right): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Clause stand part Clauses 2 to 8 stand part Amendment 3, in clause 9, page 7, line 37, at end insert— "(1A) Subsection (1B) applies for the purposes of— (a) the reference in section 1(5)(a) to a highway to which Part 7A of the Highways Act 1980 applies, and (b) the references to traffic orders in section 3(6)(a)(i) and (b) (which, by virtue of section 3(7), have the same meaning as in that Part of that Act) (1B) The definition of "traffic order" in section 115A(2) of the Highways Act 1980 is to be treated as if it included an order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 made pursuant to subsection (1)(b) or (c) of that section under the procedure provided for by regulation 18 of the Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/1215) (procedure for temporary orders made for purposes connected to coronavirus)." This amendment secures that the provisions about pavement licences apply where a highway is subject to a temporary traffic order under section 14 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for reasons relating to coronavirus. Clauses 9 and 10 stand part Amendment 1, in clause 11, page 19, line 13, at end insert— "(6A) The Secretary of State may by regulations apply sections 172F to 172L of the Licensing Act 2003 to vehicles and moveable structures in order to vary the requirement under section 189(4) of that Act that a vehicle or moveable structure not permanently situated in the same place be treated for the purposes of that Act as if it were premises situated at only that place." This amendment is intended to provide flexibility for mobile licensed premises which are already licensed in one place to benefit from the temporary provisions of this Act in other locations. Clauses 11 to 26 stand part New clause 1—Support for the tourism and hospitality sector— "(1) The Secretary of State must— (a) carry out a review of the effect of Part 1 of this Act on the tourism and hospitality sector in England and Wales; (b) set out the conclusions of the review in a report; (c) publish the report; and (d) arrange for copies of the report to be laid before both Houses of Parliament before 15 September 2020 (2) The report under subsection (1) must also make an assessment of the effects of this Act on the tourism and hospitality sector in England and Wales compared with possible further and complementary measures, including, but not limited to, extending through to 2021 the period of operation in that sector of— (a) the furlough scheme, (b) Bounce Back loans, or (c) other grants or financial support from public funds." The purpose of this new clause is for a review to examine the effect of this Bill’s proposals for the tourism and hospitality sector through to 2021, compared to extending the furlough scheme and the grants currently available. New clause 2—Monthly report on hospitality sector measures— "(1) The Secretary of State must publish a review of the effect of this Act’s provisions on the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector (2) A report under subsection (1) must be published within one month of the day in which this Act is passed and at least once in every month thereafter up to and including January 2021 (3) Every report under this section must include relevant contextual information including (but not limited to) the effect of the changes to coronavirus job retention scheme on the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector (4) The Secretary of State must arrange for a copy of each report made under this section to be laid before each House of Parliament." The purpose of this new clause is to require the Secretary of State to publish a monthly report for the next six months on the impact of the Bill in the context of changes to the coronavirus job retention scheme on sectors including hospitality. New clause 4—Explanation for extending periods under Part 2 of this Act— "(1) Before any exercise of the powers listed in subsection (2) to make regulations under this Part of this Act the Secretary of State must make a statement on the reasons in each case for extending the provisions of this Act beyond 1 April 2021 (2) The powers listed in this subsection are— (a) section 16(7), on conditions relating to construction working hours; (b) sections 17(8) and 17(9), on extending the duration of certain planning permissions; (c) section 18(7), on extensions in connection with outline planning permission (3) The Secretary of State must arrange for a copy of the statement required under this section to be laid before each House of Parliament." The purpose of this new clause is to require the Secretary of State to provide a full explanation to the House before seeking to extend beyond 1 April 2021 any measures under this Part 2 of this Bill in relation to planning permission or construction working hours. New clause 5—Costs on local authorities— "(1) The Secretary of State must make an assessment of the additional costs to local authorities of the effects of Part 2 of this Act (2) The Secretary of State must consult local authorities before making the assessment under subsection (1) (3) The Secretary of State must arrange for a copy of the assessment required under this section to be laid before each House of Parliament." The intention of this new clause is to require the Secretary of State to publish a report detailing the extra costs accrued by councils as a result of processing increased volumes of planning applications through the new deemed consent route and additional environmental approvals. New clause 6—Rolling three month parliamentary reviews— (1) This Act expires at the end of a review period unless the condition in subsection (2) is met (2) The condition is that the House of Commons has, following a debate, agreed a Motion moved during the review period by a Minister of the Crown in the form in subsection (3) (3) The form of the Motion is— "That the provisions of the Business and Planning Act 2020 should not yet expire." (4) The first review period begins on the day 90 days after the day on which this Act is passed (5) Subsequent review periods begin on the day 90 days after the day on which the previous review period ended (6) A review period ends at the end of the seventh sitting day after the day on which it begins (7) In this section, a "sitting day" means a day on which the House of Commons is sitting (and a day is only a day on which the House of Commons is sitting if the House begins to sit on that day)." The purpose of this new clause is to provide a rolling review period for this legislation so that it can be revisited 3 months after it is passed and then every subsequent three months if necessary.