Planning
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill—key to the government’s growth agenda—will reform compulsory purchase compensation, modernise planning committees and speed up decision-making.
Ben Standing, partner, Browne Jacobson, said the government’s ambition was ‘commendable’ but there was ‘no magic wand’.
He recommended ‘two small changes to planning policy that can reap significant rewards’.
First, the government ‘must clarify what the planning system will prioritise when giving weight to various considerations in planning applications to enable consistent decision-making across planning authorities’.
This applied particularly to large linear infrastructure such as electricity cables, Standing said—‘these pose issues like visual impact, so there must be a clear weighting in favour of key renewable infrastructure to clear planning hurdles’.
Second, the government must make it easier and cheaper for councils to update their local plans—'currently a very burdensome and expensive task that involves many layers of bureaucracy and inspection’.
Standing also urged the government to establish a definition for the ‘grey belt’ (low-quality parts of the green belt) and to ‘seriously consider where exactly we want to build, with extensions to existing cities that already have much of the required public infrastructure arguably the best candidates for new development’.
The courts
Among more than 40 bills, the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill aims to help tackle delays in the courts. It will allow associate prosecutors to work on appropriate cases and create specialist courts at every Crown Court to fast-track rape cases.
Bar Council chair, Sam Townend KC said he welcomed the ‘commitment to tackle the Crown Court backlogs.
‘What victims, defendants including those ultimately found innocent, and the public most need is timely, efficient justice. That is what will do most to restore victims’ confidence in the justice system, which has been undermined by the huge court backlogs and delays’.
Arbitration
Townend also singled out the Arbitration Bill for praise, an ‘important reform’ that will help London maintain ‘its deserved reputation as the foremost centre for international arbitration.
‘The hard currency and soft power value to the country of the legal services sector, the most liberal and open in the world, and already constituting 10% of the global legal economy, should not be understated.’
Immigration
On immigration, legislation will strengthen criminal penalties for gangs and modernise the asylum and immigration system. Katie Newbury, immigration partner, Kingsley Napley, said modernising the system was ‘welcome, particularly as it relates to much needed work to clear the asylum backlog and end the limbo thousands have been left in.
‘It is hoped that any changes include repeal of the Illegal Migration Act which inhibits proper consideration of asylum claims and the introduction of safe and legal routes for those wishing to seek international protection in the UK’.
Employment
Law Society president Nick Emmerson welcomed the Employment Rights Bill’s ‘focus on improving dispute resolution and enforcement’. It aims to deliver a genuine living wage, ban exploitative zero-hours contracts and ‘fire-and-rehire’ practices, and make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one. However, probationary periods for new hires will stay.
Statutory sick pay will be available to ‘all workers’. Flexible working will ‘be the default from day one for all workers, with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable’.
