Planning Bill

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that point. That might very well be the case, and other hon. Members have remarked on the lack of joined-up thinking, or joined-down thinking in the case of this Bill, with respect to the Government's other policies. The other matters that should be considered under clause 9 are the carbon implications—targets set up for carbon emissions established under the Climate Change Bill—and the biodiversity duty in section 40 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, which deals with constraints on various resources such as water and land. We may also need to consider possible alternative policies to respond to increases in demand, such as taxation or expenditure on rail as an alternative to runways. A huge number of points could be considered. Expanding the range of national policy statements referred to in clause 5(1) could include nature conservation or different options to manage demand and to manage the pressure for infrastructure development. There are several ways to go about that. We could add to clause 5 requirements to include in national policy statements an account of the conclusions arrived at under the sustainable development provisions in clause 9, so that one would inform the other. In clause 94, we could include a requirement for the IPC to consider sustainable development when dealing with applications for infrastructure development, rather than just having the Secretary of State consider such matters when drawing up policy statements. The IPC could consider them as well. Lastly, there is the question of consultation and the right to be heard. The point about airports is not a matter for Wales—it is restricted to England for very good reasons—but there is a strong argument for listening to the views of people who will be affected by aircraft noise, not just people in the immediate environment of the runway. Those considerations are very serious and have persuaded me, and my hon. Friends in the Scottish National party, to oppose the Bill at this stage.