Ms Maria Graham:

During this review, we have grappled with clarifying the roles at the national, regional and local levels, including the roles of Ministers and the Government, to ensure that planning policy is grounded as a role. One then comes to the issue of what is mandatory and what is discretionary. The language of the Act changes, with phrases such as "have regard to" and "take into consideration". The specific planning policy requirements were a way to deal with that. We ask if this flows from national policy, if it needs to be observed, and whether it is discretionary or best practice. If discretion is allowed in a plan, application or consent regime, clear reasons need to be given for diverging from the policy. Making those links would provide transparency. That is our thinking on the matter.