Key Facts

• Amendment 199 seeks to amend section 5(b) of the Business and Planning Act 2020.
• Local authorities can consider pedestrianisation through traffic regulation orders under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and pedestrian planning orders under section 249 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.
• Pavement licences allow businesses to use public space for seats and tables.
• The current fee under the 2020 Act is £100 per application; this Bill proposes increasing it to £500 initially and then £350 thereafter.
• Amendments target entities employing over 250 people, reflecting a threshold used by the Government for menu labelling regulations.
• Amendment 200 would delay the start of the consultation period until local authority receipt issuance.
• Amendment 201 aims to extend the consultation period from 14 days to 28 days.
• Current process allows for public comment within seven days, which Hollobone considers insufficient.
• The pavement licence process has been successful due to its simplicity and streamlined approach.
• The consultation period is being doubled from temporary to permanent, setting it at 14 days.
• Local authorities can refuse licences that prevent pedestrians or non-vehicular traffic from using the highway normally.
• Amendment 202 proposes changing the determination period from 14 days to 28 days.
• Local authorities can currently publish conditions in advance for deemed licences.
• The amendment would allow local authorities to require furniture removal when premises are closed and prohibit smoke-drift affecting others.
• Amendments would make it an offence to contravene a notice requiring removal of furniture or refraining from putting it on the highway.
• Local authorities could issue £500 fixed penalty notices for such offences.
• The amendments aim to offer licensing authorities alternative enforcement approaches beyond current provisions.
• The amendment aims to cover all models of service provision for HERs.
• Eighty areas in England are covered by HERs, two thirds of which are held online via local authorities.
• Specialist archaeologists and conservation officers are essential for interpreting HER data and giving context.
• Clause 185 seeks to put historic environment records on a statutory footing.
• Local authorities will be required to maintain comprehensive and dynamic historic environment resources.
• Guidance will be published alongside the implementation of clause 185.
• The Vagrancy Act 1824 is considered outdated and not fit for purpose.
• A public consultation was launched to inform the replacement legislation.
• Rough sleeping levels reached an eight-year low in autumn last year, reduced by 49% since 2017.
• £2 billion of public money has been committed towards a new rough sleeping strategy.
• Clause 187 allows for a placeholder clause that could reintroduce elements of the Vagrancy Act 1824, which was intended to be fully repealed.
• The House previously approved section 81 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 for full repeal of the Vagrancy Act.
• Existing laws like the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 provide sufficient powers without criminalising homelessness.
• Government is committed to ending rough sleeping sustainably without criminalizing individuals.
• Rough Sleeping Strategy backed by over £2 billion funding over the next three years.
• New £200 million single homelessness accommodation programme aims to provide up to 2,400 supported homes for rough sleepers by March 2025.
• Clause 189 binds the Crown except where it amends legislation not binding the Crown.
• Clause 190 sets out abbreviations used throughout the Bill for clarity.
• Clause 191 provides a power to make consequential provision, including amending primary legislation through regulations.
• Clause 195 aims to provide power to shorten deadlines for development consent order applications.
• The amendment would allow the Secretary of State to set shorter examination periods for projects meeting quality standards.
• The government's ambition is for some development consent applications to go through the process up to 50% faster starting from September next year.
• Government new clause 60 aims to reduce time for NSIP applications.
• Concerned about impact on offshore wind projects and local communities.
• Current timeframe for DCO examination stage is six months out of nine-month final decision period.
• Amendment 198 inserts additional powers in relation to non-material changes to development consent orders.
• New clause 61 aims to provide greater clarity around non-material amendments.
• Feedback from stakeholders highlights the need for certainty of outcome in respect of non-material change applications.
• New Clause 61 amends paragraph 2 of Schedule 6 to the Planning Act 2008.
• New Clause 61 provides the Secretary of State with the authority to set time limits and make decisions regarding non-material changes.
• New Clause 62 allows for earlier deadlines in examining applications for development consent orders.
• The amendment focuses on section 14 of the Land Compensation Act 1961, altering how prospects of planning permission are assessed.
• New clauses introduce a narrower scope for when planning authorities will certify that development would have been granted permission.
• Subsections (2A) and (2B) of section 18 allow appeals against rejections of applications for certificates under section 17.
• The new clause would require the Secretary of State to establish an independent body.
• Each report must assess progress in delivering levelling-up missions within a relevant period.
• Recommendations are made for future delivery of each mission.
• The clause was negatived during the Committee meeting.