, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes. So, lots of them have RIAs associated with them, and we certainly do try to set the costs out on that. So, if you look at the soundscapes Bill, for example, I'll be really clear with the committee that some of the costs will be in the secondary…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes, so, we really aren't expecting it to be all that dramatic, and bearing in mind that we're expecting this Bill to be largely cost saving, what we're doing is streamlining the processes. As we work through the subordinate legislation, as Neil just said…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, I think the short answer to that is that there are not, but we—[Inaudible.] So, this is a different kind of Bill; it's not a policy Bill. This is a process Bill, so the detail of the processes will follow in secondary legislation, but they won't be…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes, I'm very happy to commit to that. We'll do an evaluation within the first five years. Once it's up and running—. This is the primary legislation we're looking at here of course, but there will be subordinate legislation to come through to actually get…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Well done, Mike. [Laughter.]
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
No, Mike, it wasn't. Other issues were much more important than cost in considering which regime to use.
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Again, it wasn't really cost. Costs are important. but the options were discounted for reasons that weren't just cost; they were around efficiency, really. So, a consenting unit inside the Welsh Government would give us a one-stop shop, but it doesn't work…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Well, yes, of course, Mike. What comes forward is very much determined by the economic outlook and prospect. But, for example, we know that there is an opportunity in the Celtic sea waiting to happen. Now, a lot of that will be outside of our 12-mile zone…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
No, it wouldn't allow that. If you put in an application under this process for—. Let's do something as controversial as we can think of: a very large onshore windfarm that is being put through the process. It will go through the process—it will be tested…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I've touched a little bit on this before, Peter. There are thresholds that set out which applications fall into this and which don't, and they're set out on the face of the Bill. But we'll also use guidance for stakeholders in understanding the type of…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I'm going to get Neil to explain that, Peter, because this is a dark art. [Laughter.]
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
It's not the number of applications under the new regime, it's the lack of having to duplicate applications as in the current regime. So, for example, if you're applying for—. I don't know, I'll use my flood defence one as a good old chestnut. If you're…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes, certainly. Owen can talk a little bit about the Bill managers and how they work together, if you like, Chair. I will say, though, that planning is a very specific thing. It's a quasi-judicial function; it tends to be much more regulated than other areas…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes, for sure. PEDW operates fully electronically and uses a bespoke case management system. Some of you have been on committees where we’ve discussed that very system on a number of occasions. So, obviously, when the new regime is in force, those systems…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
It's near impossible to answer this question. We know that communities do incur costs because they get together to put their views forward on various projects, and, as I've said, in the previous processes, they would have had to do that a number of times…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
I think the layperson's answer to that, Rhianon, is that having negotiated with these old systems with the developers, the process that was eventually used looked more like a DNS application than it did any of the others, and so everyone was happy with that.
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Again, very similarly, we've dealt with a large number of applications. The committee will be familiar with the one that we're using as an example, which is the Morlais tidal energy scheme off the coast of Holy Island. And that had to be dealt with—and I…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, as Neil explained, a lot of the problems here are the commercial confidentiality of the information and the difficulty in getting people to reveal that, for obvious reasons. But we're very happy that Arup has taken a robust approach in the collation of…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, again, Rhianon, this based on a best estimate based on historical data, so we've looked back over what's happened before. So, section 57 is the general power to require planning permission for a development. That's normally done by the local planning…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes, so, again, it's based on a wealth of knowledge and experience from officials who've been dealing with planning applications for a very long time as part of the DNS process, for example, and other processes. And the committee can come to this conclusion…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Thank you, Rhianon. So, we are satisfied that these are the best estimates we have at this point in time. We slightly covered this in an earlier answer with Neil, didn't we? The allocated costs to each stakeholder are the best evidence that we've had from…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, answering that last bit first, I really honestly don't know, and it's sort of above my pay grade, really. I think if it works and the committee likes it, then we may consider doing it. For my own part, Chair, I think this is a document that's really…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, this is a bit more complicated, Chair. I think I might get Neil to explain exactly how that's worked, because there's been a technical exercise, effectively, about how the data's been dealt with as a result of the Arup report. So, I don't know if Neil…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
Yes. So, this is all about the streamlining effect of this process and how the various public consultees respond, Chair. So, if you think that a large number of the processes that are in here—. It's impossible to understand this unless you think of a project…
, Finance Committee
Financial implications of the Infrastructure (Wales) Bill: Evidence session
So, we've had an extensive range of discussions with key stakeholders during the whole of this time. This has been in production for some considerable time, Chair. I was engaged in some of this as part of the previous Senedd term, so this has been a long time…
