Member

The noble Lord, Lord Pickles, has repeatedly said that there is only one planning system, but that is not correct in this case. If I apply for planning consent to build a garage next my house, I apply not to Parliament but to Hackney Borough Council. In this case, there is an Act of Parliament that is considered by both Houses of Parliament through all our procedures to determine whether this should go ahead. It stands alongside any question of planning consent. My view and my submission to this Committee is that, properly, and as recognised by the Select Committee, Parliament should be given the opportunity to receive a report on the security issues before this Bill can come into effect, given that we are dealing with a site of national infrastructure and national security which happens to be situated within yards of Parliament, where we sit now, with extremely significant government offices nearby, where much of our national security is guarded. It is my suggestion that a strategic view of the security aspect should be taken by us here in Parliament. It should not be left to a planning process which, as has been admitted by the Minister, who has always been very frank, might be reduced to a vestigial exchange of letters, not a proper planning hearing.