Lord Jamieson (Con)

My Lords, it is a pleasure to open this group. I shall speak to my Amendment 139ZA and set out my reasons for it. This amendment would require a spatial development strategy to set out clearly how essential infrastructure will be funded and to assess the consequences if such infrastructure is not available. The purpose is to ensure that necessary infrastructure is properly planned and delivered as part of a spatial development strategic plan. This is important because we know from experience that, too often, development proceeds without the schools, GP surgeries, transport links, utilities and other vital services that people rely upon. The result is pressure on existing provision and frustration for local residents; in many cases, communities feel short-changed. Housing numbers are met on paper, but without the underpinning infrastructure. These are not sustainable places to live and homes do not meaningfully contribute to the economy. In many instances, this is why we have a lack of trust and why local communities so often object to new housing: they have no faith that they will get all those promises. By its nature, a spatial development strategy is long term and strategic. It is precisely the level at which infrastructure planning should be embedded, rather than being left to chance or to fragmented negotiations on individual sites. By requiring a clear statement of how essential infrastructure will be funded, we would bring accountability and realism into the process. Planners cannot simply assume that money will somehow materialise; they must demonstrate where the resources are coming from and, if gaps remain, they must assess the consequences. This is about delivery. A strategy that sets out aspirations, but is silent on how it can deliver, is not a strategy at all. It risks becoming an expensive exercise in box-ticking. But a strategy that ties development to infrastructure planning and acknowledges the risks of failure is far more likely to deliver the sustainable balanced growth that we all want to see. I hope the Minister will agree that this amendment would strengthen the purpose of spatial development strategies and ensure that they serve the communities they are meant to support. I move the amendment.