My Lords, I am searching for the words in the coalition agreement which certainly comply with the amendment. I am, of course, grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in the debate. Perhaps it was the way in which I introduced it; there seems to be some misunderstanding. There is nothing in what I am seeking, nothing in this amendment, which removes the requirement to publish statutory notices. What I am seeking to remove is the requirement to publish them in local newspapers; that is an important difference. I entirely agree, and wholly sympathise, with the view expressed by several speakers that by no means everybody accesses the web or electronic means of communications. The noble Earl, Lord Lytton, may well receive his parish notices by e-mail, but I suspect that not all in the parish study the parish e-mails. Maybe one day that will be the case, but it is not yet and I do not suggest that it should be.
This amendment would still require local authorities to publish their statutory notices, but it would require them to do so in a way that they thought likely to bring them to the attention of persons who live in the area. That could be in the local newspaper—perhaps in a better form than most statutory notices—by e-mail or on their website. Possibly the most effective way is still on a piece of paper put through the letter box, which is still, I suspect, where many people get their information on planning applications and other matters of direct interest to their immediate vicinity. It is for the local authority to decide, depending on the circumstances of its own area, which is the most effective and cost-effective way of meeting a statutory requirement to publish public notices. Among the least effective ways is this statutory notice—with which we are all familiar but which is seldom read—published in the back pages of a newspaper.
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That is the purpose of this amendment. Quite clearly, particularly in Grand Committee, there was never an intention to press it to a vote, nor indeed do I wish to press it to a vote in your Lordships’ House. However, I want to encourage the Government as strongly as I can to address the issue and to reach its conclusions—with which I may or may not agree—in time to enact them in this Bill before it completes its passage through Parliament. It seems to me that this is a long outstanding
issue. We all agree that the legislative requirement relating to local newspapers which was applicable 40 years ago is no longer applicable today. What we are not yet getting is any agreement on what the right solution is. We have a legislative opportunity which is not likely to occur again before the general election to update this legislative requirement. What I am seeking to achieve is that before this Bill is enacted there is something in it which reflects current government thinking—once it reaches that conclusion—and which is fit for the 21st century, not the middle parts of the 20th century. Having said that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.