Planning and Infrastructure Bill

Earl Russell Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 17th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I rise briefly to speak to my Amendment 246 in this group on strengthening the NRF model and, most importantly, on the overall improvement test for environmental delivery plans under Clause 55.

This is a really interesting amendment, and I welcome the speech the noble Lord has just made. We recognise the amendments that the Government have made, but judging by the size and the number of them, and the uniformity of purpose across the amendments and across political parties, I think it is fair to say that concerns remain and that many Members are still looking for further reassurance and guidance from the Government on these matters.

My amendment makes it clear that the conservation measures must not merely mitigate or offset environmental harm but significantly and measurably outweigh it. That is important, because that is about delivering a genuine net gain on the conservation status of our natural heritage. Against that there are two things. First, we have the new policies and plans the Government have put forward. There is a background worry about the disregard for nature and the dangers inherent in some of the Government’s plans, but there is also a worry that the bar is too low and that too often in the past we have seen, with the best will, government intentions and legislation ultimately failing to deliver what they promise, particularly for nature.

It is therefore important to put in those measures, and other Members have picked up on them as well. It gives clarity to developers and those involved that they need to do something more than merely replace. The amendment would enshrine in law a clear principle that any harm caused by development must be more than compensated by concrete improvements. As my noble friend Lady Grender said, that aligns with the Government’s own biodiversity and net gain targets and sets robust, measurable standards.

We are all aware that we are already, famously, one of the most nature-deprived countries in the world and the few precious sites we have left are often not properly looked after and maintained. They are very disparate and very precious. Organisations and Members across the House have raised these issues, so while I welcome “materially outweigh” that the Government have put forward, there is a need to go further. I hope we can have further conversations on this area. These matters are important.

I support most of the amendments in this group. Again, what is important is the sense in this House that on these matters we seek reassurance.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

My Lords, this is my first intervention today and, of course, I am speaking personally. I wholeheartedly support what the Government Whip said about this being Committee stage and how it should be conducted, but this is a big Bill and it needs proper scrutiny. As the Minister has told us today, there are lots of things still to clarify and many questions still to be answered. Some speakers may need reining in, and I am sure the House will support the Whips when they attempt to do that, but I put it on record that I thought the crude attack yesterday in Oral Questions was inappropriate and unhelpful.

I support most of the amendments in this group, particularly Amendments 286 and 300 and others that have been raised such as those by the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, a few moments ago. These all seek to introduce some quantification, comparison and accountability into the EDP process. There will always be a temptation for implementing bodies, be it Natural England or those that it subcontracts, to introduce subjectivity—or, shall we say, optimism—into their results and reporting. Openness with data and debate will be essential to enable candour, challenge and particularly third-party professional scrutiny. EDPs are a new adventure, and lessons will need to be learned early and fully. I therefore support, as Amendment 300 puts it,

“a high degree of certainty based on an objective assessment”.

I also support Amendment 264 in this group from the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, and, to save time, Amendment 275 in the next group from the noble Earl, Lord Russell. Both seek to introduce some discipline and accountability via mitigation hierarchy and a stepped approach.

Finally, I have two related questions for the Minister. Will there be an independent audit process of Natural England and EDPs—not just of their finances but of the outcomes and results? If so, who will select these auditors and evaluators?

--- Later in debate ---

I am sure that the mitigation hierarchy, as it has been subject to a large number of amendments already, will be an issue that we return to on Report. It would be useful if the Minister could give the Committee some assurances about the position that she sees for the mitigation hierarchy and the Bill as currently formulated.

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I will speak to my two amendments in this group on the mitigation hierarchy—Amendments 251 and 275. I do not want to speak too long on this, in the interests of the Committee, but I think that this and the last group are the two key issues remaining in the Bill. To my mind, the Government have not made enough of a solid argument for removing the mitigation hierarchy system—a tried and tested system that works and can be relied upon. No doubt there are inherent risks with changing this new system, even with the best will in the world. Similar to the last group, I generally support all of the amendments in this group and I welcome them. However, despite the reassurances given by Ministers, there is still an air of concern around these issues across the Committee.

To my mind, the Government have not made the required level of argument as to why they need to remove the mitigation hierarchy. I want to look at that specifically in relation to housing, because—and I raised this in relation to the stand part group we had the other night—all the energy policy statements have recently been updated. The Overarching National Policy Statement for Energy—EN-1—has been updated and we have had new policies on renewables, new policies on the grid and new policies on nuclear under this Government. They all have the mitigation hierarchy at their core, and they are actually really good, solid documents. So, if this Government are able to deliver the energy transition with the mitigation hierarchy in place, why can the same Government not deliver new housing with it? It just does not make sense to me. That is something I will leave to be discussed.

My Amendment 251 seeks to ensure that Natural England accepts requests only when developers have properly applied the mitigation hierarchy and justifies projects due to there being no alternative solutions and no incorporated public interest grounds, especially for sensitive habitats. We believe that this basic safeguard is needed to embed our core principles of environmental protection in planning into the Bill.

My Amendment 275 seeks to intervene in Clause 58 of the Bill and is designed to inject rigour, accountability and genuine environmental protection into the heart of the new planning system. I am pleased that this amendment has the backing of the Wildlife Trusts. It mandates that Natural England, as a delivery body, must not only adhere to the mitigation hierarchy but demonstrate that any EDP will result in significant environmental improvement

“at an ecologically appropriate scale”.

Those words are important. Other Members have raised issues about the mitigation hierarchy. I recognise the commitments the Government have made, but I think there is still a need for reassurance on these matters.

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords, I have been pleased to sign a number of amendments in this group, because the issue of the mitigation hierarchy is a big outstanding area of concern for those of us who want EDPs to be part of packages in the future but are concerned about it. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, and the noble Lord, Lord Gascoigne, have made the case, as has my noble friend Lord Russell, for our concern that the mitigation hierarchy does not remain for EDPs but does for other planning obligations.

I have one question for the Minister. Both Ministers provided a letter today that said that,

“an EDP can include planning conditions to avoid or reduce impacts on the site … before they can access the benefits of an EDP”.

I can see that that is an attempt to soften concerns that the mitigation hierarchy does not apply for an EDP, but I think the Committee needs quite a bit more information in the Minister’s summing up, and certainly before Report, about what exactly that means. I note that the letter says that an EDP “can”, not that an EDP “must”. I do not see how it is going to work.

The helpful chart drawn up by the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, and the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, makes it clear that, for an EDP, there is absolutely no compulsion for an assessment of the environmental impacts by a developer of the site that they are going to develop before they can go straight to an EDP. How can you have planning conditions for a site where you do not even have an obligation to identify what the environmental impacts are?

We have heard from meetings with civil servants that they have been drawing up plans for two EDPs on nutrient neutrality and newts, so they must have some idea of what the type of planning conditions might be. I would like a bit more information about how the planning condition process might work and what it might be in order to give noble Lords more information before we get to Report. I have to say that I feel that being able to move straight to pass “Go” and avoid the mitigation hierarchy is a massive hole in this new system. As my noble friend Lord Russell has said, other parts of government have managed to find ways to incorporate it in equally important areas of infra- structure development.