To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she received from non-governmental organisations representing planning and environmental concerns on the planning system prior to the publication of the planning white paper, Cm 7120; and what responses she made in each case. (139958)

A number of non-governmental organisations representing planning and environmental interests wrote or e-mailed with their views on the Barker report on Land Use Planning and the Eddington Review of Transport Infrastructure. There was also a wide range of meetings, discussions, and events at which representatives of those organisations presented their views.

The feedback we received from the range of events and representations from these organisations helped inform the development of the proposals which have now been put forward in the white paper “Planning for a Sustainable Future” (Cm 7120). There is an on-going process of stakeholder engagement in developing proposals for further reform of the planning system. We have invited views on a number of key proposals and other issues in the white paper and issued four consultation papers alongside the white paper on a number of detailed proposals. Formal consultation on these proposals will run until 17 August 2007.