Mr. Paul Hogan:

I think the process of pre-legislative scrutiny is very much the stress test. That is the first point.

Second, this has been through a process of legal scrutiny over 18 months. There were 17 different working groups looking at different aspects. The terms of reference are really clear about streamlining and making sure we apply the principles of the Aarhus Convention, that we ensure that European directives are fully incorporated and that we respect public participation throughout. Those were all overriding concerns.

One of the key objectives was certainly to eliminate and smooth out points of conflict that have arisen through various processes, foremost among them judicial review over the experience of the previous Act. However, I do not think anyone could argue to retain the 2000 Act, good as it was at the time. It has been amended on multiple occasions - annually at this stage. It has become impenetrable, as Ms Jones said. It is really difficult to use even for a practitioner. I have 30 years' experience in the planning system, most of it with the 2000 Act, and it has become really difficult to work with and follow. I would therefore be very surprised if anyone who came before the committee were to suggest that retaining the Act is the way to go.

Clearly, the experience of all the people involved in the review was to identify where the points of conflict are and where we think we can make things clearer. With all the checks and balances we have, we have the regional assemblies, the Office of the Planning Regulator and even different areas within local authorities. The idea is that if all parties have their roles clarified and a clear set of responsibilities within that, it should all work together, respecting, of course, the need for people to ensure they have access to justice and access to address matters they feel are wrong or whatever. There is always a balance within a regulatory system that tries to achieve visionary things for the future. Planning has to do a lot, not only in its legal framework but also in its overall purpose and mission.