National Planning Policy Framework
Debate between Iain Stewart and Nick Raynsford
Iain Stewart
If the hon. Lady will forgive me, I will not take any interventions, in order to leave time for other hon. Friends who wish to speak.
My one specific point, picking up on the good point my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan) made, is on the time scale for abolishing the regional spatial strategies. For reasons I will not go into, we all welcome that, but there is an issue in Milton Keynes about the timing of abolition. Our core strategy will be examined in July, and there is concern that, if the RSS is still in place during that examination, it might undermine the progress we are seeing on the localism agenda. I simply urge my right hon. Friend the Minister to do all he can to get the RSS finally abolished as quickly as we can. Apart from that small, specific point, I repeat my congratulations for what the Government have achieved. They have listened and had a genuine consultation, and I heartily support the new document.
Mr Raynsford
On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. In slimming down my speech to meet the four-minute time limit, I involuntarily forgot to mention my interests, which I normally declare at the start of a speech, so I would just like to put the record straight.