The Strategic Planning (Composition of Panels and Qualifying Expenditure) (Wales) Regulations 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision about the gender composition of a strategic planning panel (“panel”) and about the qualifying expenditure of a panel which is to be met by its constituent local planning authorities.

Regulation 3 sets out the composition requirements relating to a panel and provides that women and men must comprise at least 40% respectively of the local planning authority members of a panel. An exception applies, in regulation 4, where the make up of constituent local planning authorities makes the composition requirements unachievable. However, where that is the case, the composition requirements are that membership of constituent local planning authority members of both sexes must be as near to 40% as is feasible.

Regulation 5 imposes a duty on constituent local planning authorities to work together to meet the composition requirements.

Regulation 6 imposes a duty on a panel to keep under review compliance with the composition requirements in regulation 3.

If the composition requirements are not met for any reason, a panel must comply with the reporting duties set out in regulation 7. A report must be sent to the Welsh Ministers detailing how the composition requirements are not met. The reporting requirements relate to the content and timing of the report. The requirements apply equally to revisions to a report.

Regulation 8 relates to a failure by the panel to comply with the reporting requirements and provides that the Welsh Ministers must notify a panel of the failure within the time specified and a panel must respond within a specified time period confirming what it intends to do to rectify the breach.

The Welsh Ministers may issue a direction to a panel or constituent local planning authority under regulation 9 if either or both are, in the opinion of the Welsh Ministers, failing to comply with the composition requirements in regulation 3, the duty to work together to achieve the composition requirements in regulation 5, the duty to review those requirements in compliance with regulation 6 or the notification of reporting requirements in regulation 8.

If constituent local planning authorities fail to comply with a direction issued by the Welsh Ministers in relation to the composition requirements, regulation 10 provides that the voting rights of local planning authority members of the failing authorities are, in relation to panel proceedings, suspended until the breach is remedied.

Regulation 11 provides that breach of any of the provisions relating to the following; composition requirements, the duty on constituent local planning authorities to work together to achieve the composition requirements, the review of those requirements, and the notification of reporting requirements, does not invalidate anything done by the panel.

Regulation 12 sets out the expenditure of a panel that is “qualifying expenditure” to be met by the constituent local planning authorities for the purposes of paragraph 16 of Schedule 2A to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. It also describes the expenditure that is not “qualifying expenditure”.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared in relation to these Regulations. Copies are available from the Welsh Government at Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ and on the Welsh Government’s website at www.gov.wales.