Baroness Pinnock (LD)

My Lords, this group of amendments on the composition of strategic planning boards is very important and, as the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, said, will vary across the different arrangements for local authorities that currently exist. The noble Lord referred to areas where the devolution Bill would not yet help to create strategic authorities; however, from my perspective, a mayoral combined authority would act as the strategic planning board. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority, for example, covers 2.5 million people. As I understand it from reading the Bill—if I have it wrong, I hope that the Minister will put me right—the board would consist of the elected mayor and the leaders of the five constituent authorities. I have concerns about the small number of people who will take a very serious decision that will affect the whole area, without having any wider ramifications. In a large strategic authority such as the one I mentioned, there should be reference back to the individual councils to confirm the decisions being made. What the Government are saying is that no single council can disrupt the creation of a spatial development strategy, and that the majority view will hold. I urge the Minister to consider a consensus-based approach to strategic planning boards. As we have heard, the spatial development strategy will influence the local plan. If that is pushed through without consent across the constituent authorities, it will lead to very difficult decisions being taken at the local plan stage, which could challenge the spatial development strategy. That has been the experience in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority area, and nobody wins in that situation. If we want a spatial development strategy to work—and most of us do—it must be by consensus. If it is not, we would create the situation where there is more controversy further down the line for individual councils as they create their local plans. I urge the Minister to consider those points, because none of us wants that situation to arise.