The Localism Bill was the largest piece of legislation announced in last year’s Queen’s Speech and would affect England and Wales.
The Government’s objectives behind the Bill are to provide a radical shift in decentralising power across England. As such this wide-ranging Bill impacts on a large number of areas important to civil engineers including the abolition of Regional Development Agencies, the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and changes to the way in which infrastructure projects secure planning permission and local government funding.
Throughout the course of the Bill, the Localism Expert Panel produced up-to-date briefings on issues of concern to the civil engineering profession. The ICE Policy and Communications team have provided these to interested Parliamentarians to ensure our concerns are clearly expressed ahead of each stage of the Bill. This has been complimented by a dedicated media campaign, with coverage promoting ICE’s main concerns in several key publications including NCE, Municipal Journal, Surveyor and Local Government News.
Last month ICE hosted the Localism Minister, Greg Clark MP and a number of senior industry leaders for an open discussion on ICE concerns and the potential impact of the Bill for the provision of new infrastructure.
"I would like to thank the Institution of Civil Engineers for the constructive discussions they have had with Government on planning reform, and add my personal thanks for inviting me to a meeting of its Strategic Infrastructure Group.
At a pivotal moment for the country's planning system, it was invaluable to hear reflections from senior industry figures. The breadth of expertise that the Institution was able to gather in one room ensured a very high quality of debate"
Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Minister for Decentralisation
To date the Government has taken forward proposals, by ICE and other professional membership bodies, that the duty to co-operate between local councils on strategic infrastructure should be strengthened. In addition, the Government has confirmed that the preservation of the special process for nationally significant infrastructure projects will remain – though with final decisions on projects reverting to ministerial level.
The Bill is currently being considered in Committee Stage by the House of Lords and ICE is meeting with Peers in face-to-face briefings to express remaining concerns – including on reforms to the Community Infrastructure Levy. ICE will continue to engage on the Bill until it passes into law to ensure its provisions reflect the interests of its members and society in allowing for critical infrastructure to be delivered.