Recommendations & Conclusions
4 items
5
Conclusion
4th Report - The new National Policy St…
Rejected
If planning examinations stray too far into matters reserved to other regimes this will undermine those regulators. While the exhaustive drafting of the criteria in EN-7 may simply be intended to empower the Planning Inspectorate and the Secretary of State to consider a wide range of relevant factors, this overlooks …
Government response. The government rejects the committee's assessment, arguing that the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) consenting regime properly assesses project viability in controlling land, and a finding of regulatory viability during planning must be probabilistic to be proportionate.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
7
Recommendation
4th Report - The new National Policy St…
Rejected
Language in section 2.4 presuming the effectiveness of regulatory regimes should be strengthened to state that the Examining Authority should require only such information as is reasonably necessary to assess planning and environmental impacts within the scope of this NPS. (Recommendation, Paragraph 31)
Government response. The government rejects strengthening the language, stating that the current EN-7 already balances the need for information with regulatory oversight and ensures unnecessary information is not sought.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
17
Recommendation
4th Report - The new National Policy St…
Rejected
EN-7 should, for now, retain SUPDC to avoid delaying its designation, but should replace the requirement to consult the Health and Safety Executive with a published map showing SUPDC test results for all of England 26 and Wales at a suitable resolution (but ideally on a 100-metre grid at least …
Government response. The government rejects the recommendation to replace HSE consultation with a published map for SUPDC, explaining that the underlying data updates too frequently to make maps viable, and states they will keep the current HSE consultation requirement while remaining open …
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
18
Recommendation
4th Report - The new National Policy St…
Rejected
The Government should commission the Office for Nuclear Regulation to develop proposals for a replacement methodology to SUPDC. The ONR could consider the risks posed by different nuclear technologies, recognising that some novel technologies may pose greater or lesser risks of radioactive release. These proposals should include the option of …
Government response. The government rejects the idea of replacing SUPDC with REPPIR, arguing they are not equivalent and would waste resources. It commits to reviewing the EN-7 and Semi-Urban Population Density Criterion with the Office for Nuclear Regulation's help every five years.
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero