SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDER - parliament.uk · SPO-specific Information sheet for the petitioning date for ... If you object to the whole SPO you must present a petition called a Petition

HOW TO PETITION

AGAINST A SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDER

IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS

AMEP Petitioning Kit Guide – February 2014 - 1 -

WHAT IS A SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDER? ............................................................................................... 3

HOW DO I HAVE MY VIEWS HEARD? ........................................................................................................ 3

WHAT IS A PETITION? ............................................................................................................................. 3

WHO MAY PETITION? .............................................................................................................................. 4

SHOULD I PETITION THE HOUSE OF LORDS OR THE HOUSE OF COMMONS? ......................................... 4

WHEN SHOULD I PRESENT THE PETITION? ............................................................................................. 4

WHICH TYPE OF PETITION SHOULD I WRITE? ......................................................................................... 5

WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN THE PETITION? ................................................................................................ 5

HOW SHOULD I WORD MY PETITION? ..................................................................................................... 6

WHAT OTHER RULES SHOULD I FOLLOW WHEN PREPARING MY PETITION? .......................................... 6

WHAT DO I DO WITH THE PETITION? HOW DO I DEPOSIT IT? ................................................................ 7

WHERE ELSE MUST I DEPOSIT COPIES OF MY PETITION? ......................................................................... 8

AGENTS ................................................................................................................................................... 8

COUNSEL ................................................................................................................................................. 9

FEES ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

MAY I WITHDRAW MY PETITION AFTER I HAVE DEPOSITED IT? ............................................................ 10

PETITIONS FROM COMPANIES ETC. ....................................................................................................... 10

PETITIONS FROM MORE THAN ONE INDIVIDUAL ................................................................................... 10

PETITIONS FROM ORGANISATIONS, GROUPS ETC. ................................................................................ 10

PETITIONS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND COUNCILLORS ................................................................. 11

WHERE IS THE HOUSE OF LORDS PRIVATE BILL OFFICE? ....................................................................... 11

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PETITIONS HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED?................................................................ 12

HOW IS IT DECIDED WHETHER MY PETITION WILL BE CONSIDERED BY A JOINT COMMITTEE? ............. 13

THE CHAIRMEN’S REPORT ..................................................................................................................... 13

THE JOINT COMMITTEE – DECISION ABOUT YOUR PETITION ................................................................ 14

MEMORIALS – CHALLENGING YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD ..................................................................... 14

COUNTER-PETITIONS ............................................................................................................................ 15

THE JOINT COMMITTEE ......................................................................................................................... 15


FURTHER ENQUIRIES ............................................................................................................................. 16

INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET ......................................................................................................... 16

CONTACT DETAILS................................................................................................................................ 16

CHECK LIST: DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE ..................................... 19

CHECK LIST: DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE – CONTINUED ................ 20

WHEN WILL THE JOINT COMMITTEE MEET TO CONSIDER THE SPO? ..................................................... 21

APPENDIX A: PETITION TEMPLATE FOR A PETITION AGAINST A SPECIAL

PROCEDURE ORDER ................................................................................. 23

APPENDIX B: THIS SHEET MUST BE COMPLETED AND ATTACHED TO THE FRONT OF

YOUR ORIGINAL, SIGNED, PETITION (BUT NOT TO THE COPY) .......................... 27

APPENDIX C: REQUISITION FOR WITHDRAWAL OF PETITION ................................. 29

APPENDIX D: LIST OF “ROLL A” PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS .................................... 31

APPENDIX E: “ROLL B” AGENT APPLICATION FORM ............................................. 33

APPENDIX F: SPECIMEN LETTER OF AUTHORITY ................................................... 35

APPENDIX G: CERTIFICATE OF RESPECTABILITY .................................................. 37

APPENDIX H: SPOS MADE UNDER THE PLANNING ACT 2008 – EXTRACT FROM A

RECENT CHAIRMEN’S REPORT OUTLINING THEIR DECISION AS TO WHICH

PETITIONS WERE “PROPER TO BE RECEIVED” ............................................... 39


WHAT IS A SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDER?

A special procedure order (SPO) is an order created by a body outside Parliament (such as a local

authority, called the applicant for the order). The SPO is made or confirmed by a Minister under

statutory powers, which is subject to a procedure created by Act of Parliament1. These orders are

mainly used to get permission for the compulsory purchase of certain protected categories of land.

In many cases this gives those who are directly affected by whatever the SPO seeks to achieve an

opportunity to put their views to a committee who will then decide whether the SPO should

become law and in what form. In some cases this opportunity may be restricted to those who

own the land whose compulsory purchase is being sought.

HOW DO I HAVE MY VIEWS HEARD?

You must act quickly; there is only one opportunity for you to take part. First of all you must

present a document known as a petition to either the House of Lords or the House of Commons

(see What is a petition? below). If you are not sure which House to petition see Should I petition the

House of Lords or the House of Commons? below.

You must present your petition during the SPO’s petitioning period2 or you will not have an

opportunity for your views to be considered (see the SPO-specific Information Sheet enclosed in the

petitioning kit for the actual dates and When should I present the petition? below). You can always

withdraw your petition at a later date if you change your mind but there will be no further

opportunities to present a petition against the SPO.

If at least one petition meets certain criteria (these are explained later in this Guide) and it is not

withdrawn then it is very likely that a joint committee will be appointed to consider the

petitioner(s)’ case(s) against (or for amending) the SPO. If your petition complies with the rules of

the House then you, or someone representing you, will have an opportunity to explain your

objections (or proposed amendments) to the committee. This is a very simplified explanation of

what happens and you’ll find more detailed information later in this Guide.

This petitioning kit explains how to present a petition to the House of Lords. A separate

petitioning kit is available from the House of Commons. Both are available electronically here:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation/secondary-legislation/special-procedure-

orders/ or, if you contact the appropriate Private Bill Office, we will send you a printed version of

the petitioning kit (see Contact details below).

WHAT IS A PETITION?

A petition in this context is not a public petition (a paper headed “we the undersigned .....”

followed by many signatures). A petition is a signed document which explains how you are

affected by the SPO and gives a summary of your objections to it (or explains the amendments

1 the procedure was created by the Statutory Orders (Special Procedure) Act 1945 (which was amended by the 1965 Act of the

same name).

2 Usually within three weeks of the SPO being laid before Parliament

http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-and-legislation/secondary-legislation/special-procedure-orders/



you wish to be made to it). A person or group presenting a petition is known as a petitioner. By

depositing a petition (giving it to the House of Lords Private Bill Office), a petitioner is making a

formal request to the House of Lords to be allowed to argue their case in due course, before a

joint committee3.

You must take special care to ensure that you have deposited the right type of petition (see Which

type of petition should I write? below). The format of the petition is also important; there are

certain specific words and types of information that you must be certain to include. Clear

instructions are given later in this Guide to help you get it right; it is perfectly possible for anybody

to draft a petition if they follow the instructions given in this Guide.

WHO MAY PETITION?

Any individual, group of individuals or organisation may petition. Local authorities may also

petition though they may have to meet certain statutory requirements when doing so (see Local

Authorities and councillors below). However, it is not enough simply to disagree with what the SPO

proposes; petitioners must demonstrate in their petition that they are sufficiently “directly and

specifically affected” by the SPO’s proposals in order for their petition to be considered.

Sometimes it is decided at a later point in the Parliamentary proceedings on the SPO that only

restricted groups will be considered by a joint committee or perhaps that only restricted topics

will be considered but all of the above people and groups may deposit a petition in the first

instance (see also How is it decided whether my petition will be considered by a joint committee? below).

SHOULD I PETITION THE HOUSE OF LORDS OR THE HOUSE OF COMMONS?

Petitions may be made to either House of Parliament – the House of Lords or the House of

Commons – and essentially there is no advantage to petitioning one House or the other since all

petitions are equally weighted and, if they are successful, will be considered by a joint committee of

both Houses (see The joint committee below). Although the rules in each House are very similar

some of the wording and the practical details of depositing a petition are different in each House.

This petitioning kit explains how to present a petition to the House of Lords. A separate

petitioning kit is available from the House of Commons. Both are available electronically here:


orders/ or, if you contact the appropriate Private Bill Office, we will send you a printed version of

the petitioning kit (see Contact details below).

WHEN SHOULD I PRESENT THE PETITION?

You MUST deposit your petition during the petitioning period. The petitioning period usually

lasts for twenty-one days beginning on the day the SPO is formally laid before Parliament. See the

SPO-specific Information sheet for the petitioning date for this SPO. The dates are also posted on

3 A joint committee is a committee made up of members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons (see The joint

committee).




the Parliamentary website during the petitioning period: http://www.parliament.uk/business/bills-

and-legislation/secondary-legislation/special-procedure-orders/

You can always withdraw your petition at a later date if you change your mind or reach agreement

with the Applicants for the SPO but you cannot deposit a petition after the petitioning period has

finished.

WHICH TYPE OF PETITION SHOULD I WRITE?

There are two types of objection to an SPO:

you may not wish the SPO to go ahead at all, or

you may wish to see it amended in some way but not object to it entirely.

Since there are two types of objection there are two types of petition, one for each type, and you

must be very careful to choose the correct one.

It is quite easy to select the right type of petition:

If you object to the whole SPO you must present a petition called a Petition of General

Objection. You must not suggest any amendments to the SPO in this type of petition.

If you would like to see the SPO amended but would be happy for it to go ahead as long as it

were amended in the way that you wished then you must present a petition called a Petition

for Amendment and your petition must contain the amendment(s) which you would like to

see made to the SPO but not objections to the whole of the SPO. You should include in your

petition the reasons why you wish these amendments to be made and therefore should also

include your objections relating solely to the issues covered by your amendment(s).

If you wish to do both (perhaps you would not wish the SPO to go ahead if it were not

amended in the way that you suggest) then you must present two separate petitions, one

Petition for Amendment and one Petition of General Objection. You must not try and put

both points of view in one petition; it will not be acceptable (see How is it decided whether my

petition will be considered by a joint committee? below).

WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN THE PETITION?

Your petition should:

say who you, the petitioner(s), are and where you live (or what your business is and where its

premises are if it is your business which is affected by the SPO). If you are petitioning as a

group or organisation, the petition should also mention what the group or organisation does

and the size of its membership,

describe how you, the petitioner(s) are specially and directly affected by the SPO and explain

how you will be harmed or adversely affected by it

say which type of petition you are presenting (see Which type of petition should I write? above):

Are you presenting a Petition of General Objection because you object to the

whole SPO? Then you should say so and briefly give your reasons why you believe

the SPO should be rejected.




Or, are you presenting a Petition for Amendment because you wish the SPO to

be amended? Then you should say so and should outline the changes you wish to

see made to the SPO and how they would reduce the adverse affect upon you.

Remember:

Your petition forms the basis of your case before a joint committee, so it must include all the

objections which you wish to raise: matters can only be raised in committee if they are

referred to in the original petition. You do not need to go into objections in great detail or

rehearse the arguments which you will make to the committee; you should merely outline

them briefly.

There are certain words which must appear in your petition for it to comply with the rules of

the House of Lords.

A petition template is attached in Appendix A. It is a good idea, particularly if you live outside

London, to contact the House of Lords Private Bill Office to discuss your petition and then to send

a draft of your petition by fax, post or e-mail in advance to ensure that it is in the correct form

before travelling down to deposit it (see Contact details below).

HOW SHOULD I WORD MY PETITION?

The wording required for petitions to the House of Lords should broadly follow that of the

petition template in Appendix A. Some parts of your petition must be worded exactly as in the

petition template4. If it is not, your petition will not be accepted.

You should write other parts of the petition in your own words. You do not have to write in a

particularly formal way; just make sure your points are made as clearly as you can.

WHAT OTHER RULES SHOULD I FOLLOW WHEN PREPARING MY PETITION?

Your petition should ideally be printed (i.e. word-processed, typed etc) but it can be hand-

written as long as it is easy to read.

You should print it on paper of a reasonable quality, for example photocopying paper (80 gsm),

preferably A4 size5. Please print on only one side of each sheet of paper.

No changes should be made to your petition once it has been typed; nothing should be written

in, crossed out, or rubbed out and nothing should be pinned or stapled to it6.

If you are petitioning as an individual, group of individuals or other organisation, your petition

must either be:

o signed by all the petitioners named on your petition, or

4 The petition must contain a prayer request (that is a formal request that Parliament should take certain action – it begins

“The petitioner(s) therefore request(s) that, should a joint committee consider this Order… “) and the petition must end with

the words " And the petitioner(s) remain(s), etc." It must also state on the front page whether it is a Petition for General

Objection or a Petition for Amendment. 5 If you have a printed version of this document this page is A4 size and will most likely be printed on 80gsm paper. 6 In formal terms: No erasures or interlineations should be made in the petition; and no letter, affidavit, appendix or other

document may be annexed to it.


o signed on the petitioner(s)’ behalf by their duly authorised agent (see Agents below).

If you are petitioning as a limited company or corporation or local authority, your petition

must either be:

o signed on the body’s behalf by a duly authorised agent, or

o sealed by affixing the common seal of that company, corporation or local authority to

the petition (and no signatures are needed)7.

The first signature or seal must be on the same sheet of paper as the prayer request8 or part of

the prayer request.

WHAT DO I DO WITH THE PETITION? HOW DO I DEPOSIT IT?

Your petition must be taken (or sent) to the House of Lords Private Bill Office. It is

most important that your signed petition (in the proper form) is received by the

Private Bill Office by the closing date for petitioning with the petitioning fee (see When

should I present the Petition? above and Fees below).

Please note that there are also other places where you must deposit copies of your petition (see

Where else must I deposit copies of my petition? below).

You should contact the House of Lords Private Bill Office to make an appointment to deposit your

petition. You are advised to deliver your petition before the last day of the petitioning period so

there is time for you to take appropriate action if you have got something wrong.

You may deposit your petition in the following ways:

you (or any other petitioner named on the petition) may deliver your petition to the House of

Lords Private Bill Office yourself,

the person acting as your agent (see Agents below) may deliver your petition but they must

also bring certain other documents with them (see the Check list below),

another person may deliver your petition for you but, unless they are a Member of the House

of Lords or a Member of Parliament, they must bring a signed consent from you saying that you

agree that they can deposit the petition on your behalf,

you may send your petition by post and, in certain circumstances, by fax (but you should

contact the Private Bill Office before doing so). You are strongly advised to arrange for your

petition to be hand delivered to the Private Bill Office, particularly as you must deposit other

copies by hand (see the following section). Posted petitions must be received within the

petitioning period and in the proper form. Postal delays will not be taken into consideration if

you miss the deadline. Please mark the top left-hand corner of the envelope

7 A company may elect not to use a seal if it so prefers. Any document formerly requiring a seal can now be signed “as a deed”

by two officers of the company and this would be perfectly acceptable.

8 The petition must contain a prayer request (that is a formal request that Parliament should take certain action – it begins “The

petitioner(s) therefore request(s) that, should a joint committee consider this Order… “) and the petition must end with the

words " And the petitioner(s) remain(s), etc."


“URGENT – PETITION” and post it to the House of Lords Private Bill Office address given

in Contact details below.

See the following sections for further information: Contact details, Where is the House of Lords Private

Bill Office?, Where else must I deposit copies of my petition?, Check list for documents you should take

to the House of Lords Private Bill Office.

WHERE ELSE MUST I DEPOSIT COPIES OF MY PETITION?

A copy of any petition which is deposited in the Lords Private Bill Office must also be deposited no

later than the following day and in person by the petitioner or his representative at:

the House of Commons Private Bill Office9,

the office of the Chairman of Ways and Means, House of Commons (the Commons’ Deputy

Speaker)10,

the relevant Government department11, and

the office of the applicant for the order12. This copy (and only this copy) may be delivered

by recorded delivery (i.e. special delivery) post.

You should contact each office and arrange the deposit (see Contact details below and SPO-specific

Information Sheet).

AGENTS

As a petitioner you may decide to represent yourself. Many petitioners do and there is no

disadvantage in doing that. Alternatively, you may ask someone to act as your Parliamentary

Agent to act on your behalf in all matters relating to the petition and to argue your case before

the committee. You may pay someone to do this, for example, a solicitor, or you may simply ask

someone you know (such as a friend, relative or colleague) to act for you.

There are two types of agents:

professional Parliamentary Agents (solicitors who specialise in promoting and opposing hybrid

and private bills). These are known as "Roll A" Agents and you will pay them a fee to act for

you. A list of these is given in Appendix D,

all other Parliamentary Agents are known as "Roll B" Agents. Any individual, including another

petitioner, can become a “Roll B” Agent and can act on your behalf. Solicitors who are not

“Roll A” Agents often register as “Roll B” Agents and may offer to act for you for a fee.

9 Please contact the House of Commons Private Bill Office in advance to check that the arrangements you are making are

satisfactory.

10 It may be possible for you to deposit this copy with the House of Commons Private Bill Office. Please check in advance.

11 In the case of the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014 the “relevant Government department” is the

Department for Transport (see address on the SPO-specific Information Sheet).

12 In the case of the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014 this is Able Humber Ports Ltd (see address on

the SPO-specific Information Sheet).


If you wish to be represented by a “Roll A” Agent they will take care of all of the necessary

paperwork for you.

If you wish to be represented by anyone other than a “Roll A” Agent the person

depositing your petition should bring the following documents with them to the Private Bill Office

at that time:

a letter of authority – authorising a named person to act on your behalf as your agent signed

by you, the petitioner (an example letter is given in Appendix F), and

a completed “Roll B” Agent application form (See Appendix E), and

a certificate of respectability (See Appendix G) duly signed. This certificate of respectability

is only required for those agents who are not solicitors or who have not been enrolled on

“Roll B” in recent parliamentary sessions13.

You may change your agent at any time. Any new agent must be authorised in exactly the same

way as the previous one: you will need to present a letter of authority and a certificate of

respectability for the new agent to the House of Lords Private Bill Office before your new agent

can take on that role.

COUNSEL

You may decide that you would like to have a barrister to put your case before the committee.

You may instruct a barrister whether or not you have an agent. The Promoters will have Counsel

(a barrister) to represent them but many petitioners either speak for themselves or let their agents

do so; the committee expect to hear evidence from those with no legal training and it is probable

that most of the committee members will not be legally qualified themselves.

FEES

A £20 fee is levied for each petition presented. A charge of £10 must be paid at the time the

petitions are presented in the Lords. Payment by cheque or cash will be accepted (but not credit

or debit cards). Cheques should be made payable to "The House of Lords Account". If you decide

to post your petition to us, obviously you cannot enclose cash; you will have to pay the fee by

cheque. The £10 balance is payable to the House of Commons when you deposit a copy of your

petition in the House of Commons Private Bill Office. They will accept cash or a cheque or will

invoice you once a copy of your petition has been deposited there if you prefer.

Please note a petition may not be accepted without payment of the fee and that all

relevant fees need to be settled in full for the petition to proceed.

There are no other fees for you to pay to the House of Lords. If you employ a professional agent

or Counsel you will have to pay their fees.

13 If your Agent has been a “Roll B” Agent in the past but not in the last 5 years you should check w ith the Private Bill Office as to whether a

new certificate of respectability is needed.


MAY I WITHDRAW MY PETITION AFTER I HAVE DEPOSITED IT?

Yes. You may withdraw your petition at any time before you appear before the committee, if you

wish to do so, by depositing14 a letter (or requisition) in the House of Lords Private Bill Office,

signed by you or your agent (see Appendix C for a specimen requisition form). If you are not the

only petitioner on your petition, you or any of the other petitioners may withdraw from the

petition in the same way leaving the remaining petitioners to continue with their case. The form

may also be faxed, or a pdf of it emailed, to the House of Lords Private Bill Office (see Contact

details below).

PETITIONS FROM COMPANIES ETC.

If your business or company wishes to petition against an SPO it must:

be represented by an agent (lay or professional, for example, the Chief Executive or a

Company Secretary), and

present a letter, signed by a person who has the authority to act for the company authorising a

petition to be presented and naming an agent to act on the company’s behalf15, at the House of

Lords Private Bill Office when the petition is deposited.

PETITIONS FROM MORE THAN ONE INDIVIDUAL

You may present a petition from more than one person. If more than one person wishes to add

their names to a petition:

Every petitioner must be named at the beginning of the petition, and

every petitioner must sign the petition (unless an agent, who is not a co-petitioner, is

representing all of the petitioners and is signing the petition on their behalf).

If an agent, who is not one of the co-petitioners, is appointed to represent all of the petitioners

then you must present a letter of authority signed by all of the petitioners authorising that

agent to act on their behalf, at the House of Lords Private Bill Office when you deposit the

petition.

One of the petitioners may act on behalf of his co-petitioners with their consent (he is

effectively acting as an agent though he does not need to present a letter of authority or a

certificate of respectability). In this case all of the petitioners must have signed the petition

themselves. During the presentation of the case he may call the other petitioners as witnesses

before the committee.

PETITIONS FROM ORGANISATIONS, GROUPS ETC.

If your organisation or group wishes to petition against an SPO it must:

be represented by an agent (lay or professional, it could, for example, be the Chairman of the

organisation),

14 You may send this by post but please tell the Lords Private Bill office that you are going to do that as your letter may get lost in the post. 15 The letter should be on company headed paper. If your company requires more than one person to sign documents on behalf of the

company all of those required should sign the letter.


hold a properly constituted meeting and pass resolutions authorising:

o the deposit of a petition against the order and

o a named person (an agent) to act on behalf of the organisation,

present a letter, containing the resolutions mentioned above (an extract of the Minutes of the

meeting), signed by someone who has the authority to act for the organisation/group at the

House of Lords Private Bill Office when the petition is deposited.

PETITIONS FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND COUNCILLORS

If a local authority wishes to petition against an SPO it must:

be represented by an agent (lay or professional, for example, a Councillor),

present a letter of authority, authorising a named person (an agent) to act on behalf of the local

authority signed by someone who has the authority to do so, at the House of Lords Private Bill

Office when the petition is deposited.

If you are a councillor you may petition as an individual (and give evidence on how the SPO

specially and directly affects you individually) but you cannot use that petition to give evidence on

behalf of your local authority. To do that the requirements listed above must be met and a

petition presented in the name of the local authority.

Please note: That most local authorities have a statutory duty to comply with the requirements of

the Local Government Act 1972 in relation to opposing private legislation (this can be done after

the petition has been presented). This is not a parliamentary requirement and the local authority

itself is responsible for determining whether compliance is necessary.

WHERE IS THE HOUSE OF LORDS PRIVATE BILL OFFICE?

The House of Lords Private Bill Office is located in the Houses of Parliament, Westminster,

London, SW1A 0PW. Please make an appointment to deposit your petition16. The time

of your appointment will determine which entrance you will need to use to get to the Private Bill

Office:

Before 10:45 – Enter the Houses of Parliament through the Cromwell Green entrance in

Abingdon Street (marked (7) on the map in the petitioning kit). This is roughly half way along

the building. Once you have gone through the security checking area you should ask one of the

Visitor Assistants17 to take you to the reception in Central Lobby. Once there, ask them to

contact the House of Lords Private Bill Office on extension 3231/3103 and someone will come

to collect you.

After 10:45 – Enter the House of Lords through Black Rod's Garden entrance in Abingdon

Street (marked (10) on the map in the petitioning kit). This is the very last entrance to the

16 If your petition is being deposited by a Lord or an MP they should ring ext 3231 for internal directions and to ensure someone

is in the office to receive the petition.

17 You may need to go to the visitors’ desk in Westminster Hall; ask the security staff to direct you to a Visitor Assistant.


House at the opposite end of the Houses of Parliament from Big Ben (just past the Victoria

Tower and just before Victoria Tower Gardens). When you arrive you should ask them to

contact the House of Lords Private Bill Office on extension 3231/3103 and someone will come

to collect you.

The House is well served by public transport (though parking near the House is very difficult). The

map shows details of local routes and stations. You can also obtain travel advice from Visit London

or from Transport for London. Please do not attempt to come into the building by any other

entrance.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER PETITIONS HAVE BEEN DEPOSITED?

Once you have deposited your petition in the House of Lords Private Bill Office (and the other

necessary offices) a copy will be given to the Government department/applicant’s Parliamentary

Agent (if they have one) and posted on our website (the details you give on the Front Sheet

(Appendix B) will not be posted on the website but anything in the petition, including the

endorsement sheet but not including your signature, will be posted). We will also give copies of

your petition to anyone who requests them. Once the Parliamentary Agent has received a copy of

your petition they, the Government department or the applicants will often contact you to discuss

your objections.

Within 7 days of your petition’s deposit – The applicants for the order or the relevant

Government department may oppose your petition on two grounds by depositing a memorial

against it (see Memorials – Challenging your right to be heard below).

After the end of the last possible memorialising time which would usually be 7 days

after the deposit of the last petition18 – all petitions and memorials will be referred to the

Chairmen of both Houses19. The Chairmen then examine all petitions and memorials and report

to both Houses. If a petition complies with Standing Orders they certify it "proper to be

received". They also certify whether it is a Petition for Amendment or a Petition of General

Objection. If a Petition for Amendment involves amendments which would alter the scope of the

SPO or affect the interests of anyone other than the petitioner, the Chairmen may make a Special

Report to that effect. The Chairmen also have the power to alter a petition containing

amendments which would effectively render the SPO pointless. They may either delete those

amendments or certify the petition as a Petition of General Objection.

Within 14 days of the Chairmen's report being made to Parliament – counter-petitions

may be presented (see Counter-Petitions below).

18 This would be 10 March 2014 in the case of the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014.

19 the Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords and the Chairman of Ways and Means (the Deputy Speaker) in the House

of Commons.


Within 21 days of the Chairmen's report being made to Parliament – Members of

either House have the opportunity, within twenty-one days of the Chairmen's report being laid, to

propose20 to either House that the SPO should not come into operation.

It is also open to members of either House to propose21 that a particular petitioner not have the

right to have his views heard by the joint committee (this is generally only applied to Petitions of

General Objection).

At the end of this time a joint committee will be appointed to consider the petitions unless the

House has agreed to the contrary.

HOW IS IT DECIDED WHETHER MY PETITION WILL BE CONSIDERED BY A JOINT

COMMITTEE?

Two decisions are made in respect of your petition before the joint committee can hear your

evidence:

Firstly, the Chairmen decide whether your petition is “proper to be received” and whether

you have a right to be heard. They then refers any petitions which are successful to a joint

committee.

Secondly, the joint committee itself decides how much of a petition which has been referred to

them they are going to consider.

The Chairmen’s report

The Chairmen – that is the Chairman of Committees in the House of Lords and the Chairman of

Ways and Means (the Deputy Speaker) in the House of Commons – meet (in private) as soon as

possible after the last possible date for a Memorial (see Memorials – Challenging your right to be

heard below) to be deposited (7 days after the last petition has been deposited). They decide

whether your petition is “proper to be received” and should be referred to a joint committee.

If they decide that it should not you will not be able to take part in the joint committee

proceedings.

In order to make this decision the Chairmen firstly consider whether you have “locus standi22”.

This largely depends on whether you have demonstrated in your petition that you are specially and

directly affected by what the SPO seeks to do (which is why it is so important that you include that

information in your petition). If any Memorials have been deposited against your petition then

the Chairmen will call a public meeting and will listen to the memorialist(s) and to you (or your

agent) before reaching a decision. What qualifies as “directly and specifically affected” will depend

in part on the specific wording in the parent Act, that is, the Act under which a particular SPO is

20 in Parliamentary terms, to table and move an annulment resolution. If this motion is agreed to (in either House) the SPO

will not be proceeded with further.

21 in Parliamentary terms, to table a motion that a particular Petition of General Objection "shall not stand referred" to the joint

committee.

22 Locus standi can be defined as the right of a petitioner to be heard against the order on the grounds that he is specially, directly

and injuriously affected by its provisions.


made. The parent Act will specify the circumstances in which, and the extent to which, a particular

type of Order is subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure.

It might help you understand the way in which locus standi is assessed23 if you read an extract from

a report on another SPO laid under that Act (See APPENDIX H: SPOs made under the Planning Act

2008 – extract from a recent Chairmen’s report outlining their decision as to which petitions were “proper

to be received”). The Chairmen decided in that instance to adopt quite a narrow view and so many

petitions were not referred to the joint committee.

In deciding whether your petition is proper to be received the Chairmen must also consider

whether you have followed the rules of both Houses and of the Act governing the special

parliamentary procedure. That includes whether you deposited it in the right places within the

petitioning period, whether you have chosen the right type of petition (which can also be the

subject of a memorial), whether the petition is signed and contains the mandatory wording24 and

whether you are specially, directly and injuriously affected by the provisions of the SPO. All of the

rules are laid out quite clearly in this Petitioning Guide (and that of the House of Commons).

Once the Chairmen have made their decisions they report to the House of Lords and the House

of Commons as to which petitions (if any) will be referred to a joint committee and the Private Bill

Offices will notify you of the outcome.

The joint committee – decision about your petition

If a joint committee is appointed its first task is to consider how much of each petition that has

been referred to it by the Chairmen it will consider. Often it will elect to consider the whole of

the project to which the SPO relates but it can also opt to consider only the question of the

compulsory purchase dealt with by the SPO. The joint committee does not necessarily follow the

lead of the Chairmen. In the case of the Rookery South SPO (see Appendix H) the Chairmen

decided that only the compulsory purchase was relevant for their decision25 but the joint

committee decided to consider the wider issue and heard evidence on all of the matters in the

petitions referred to it.

MEMORIALS – CHALLENGING YOUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD

A memorial is an official written notice of objection to a petition. It can only be presented by the

applicant for an SPO or by the Minister from the Department who laid the SPO before Parliament

and it must be presented within seven days of a petition being deposited in the House of Lords.

There are two grounds for objection to a petition:

23 particularly in relation to SPOs laid under the Planning Act 2008 such as the Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent

Order 2014.

24 shown on the template in Appendix A.

25 “We therefore conclude that, although the entire Order is subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure, it is only the provisions

of the Order which relate to the compulsory acquisition of the special land which should be treated as relevant for the purposes

of deciding which petitions are proper to be received.” See Appendix H for the whole report.


1. that a petition which is presented as a Petition for Amendment is really a petition of General

Objection (see What is a Petition? and Which type of petition should I write? above), or

2. that the petitioner does not have Locus standi22. In other words, that the petitioner will not be

"specially directly and injuriously affected by its provisions".

If the applicant for the SPO or the appropriate government department do present a memorial the

matter is decided by the two Chairmen (see previous section). If the objection (on either ground)

is upheld then the petition will not be considered by the joint committee and the petitioner(s) can

take no further part in the proceedings, though he may listen to them with other members of the

public.

COUNTER-PETITIONS

A counter-petition complaining that an amendment in a petition will affect the interest of the

counter-petitioner (or the person on whose behalf a counter-petition is presented) may be

presented against Petitions for Amendment within fourteen days of the Chairmen's report being

made to Parliament. Prospective counter-petitioners may obtain more information on them from

either Private Bill Office.

THE JOINT COMMITTEE

Where petitions are referred to a joint committee the promoters of the SPO will usually tell

petitioners when the committee will meet. But it may be in the petitioners' own interests to check

with either Private Bill Office from time to time to see whether the committee dates are known.

A petitioner may appear in person before the committee. A petitioner may also appear not only

on his own behalf but also on behalf of other petitioners whose names appear at the beginning of

the petition, the original copy of which must be signed by all of them. In this event a petitioner may

call his co-petitioners as witnesses.

Alternatively, a petitioner or petitioners may appoint someone to act as agent on his or their

behalf (see Agents above). The agent, who need not be a lawyer, will then appear on the

petitioner's behalf before the committee. He will be entitled to examine and cross-examine

witnesses and generally conduct the petitioner's case.

A joint committee consists of three Lords and three MPs, one of whom acts as chairman. The

chairmanship of these joint committees alternates between the Commons and the Lords. If the

Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014 goes to a joint committee the

chairman will be a member of the House of Lords.

The committee hears argument and evidence submitted by those involved26. The burden of proof

rests with the petitioners against the SPO27.

26 The main stages of the proceedings are: a) factual statement of the purpose of the SPO b) petitioner's case c) case for the

SPO d) petitioner's reply d) committee draws its conclusions ("deliberates").


The committee has wide powers. It may reject the SPO altogether, amend it, or approve it in

unamended form. However, in some ways the committee's powers are restricted. Except in

certain limited circumstances, it may not amend the SPO in a way which affects people who have

not previously been affected by the SPO. Furthermore, except where permission is expressly

given by the two Houses, the committee cannot call for evidence except that offered by the parties

formally represented before it.

The length of committee proceedings depends on the complexity of the SPO and the extent of

opposition to it. A committee stage may be over within a day, or may last many weeks. The

average is one or two weeks. Committees usually sit on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from

10:30 (11:00 on the first day of sitting) till 13:00, and 14:00 till 16:30.

If you present a petition and a joint committee is appointed we will send you more information on

how the committee works nearer the time.

FURTHER ENQUIRIES

Both Chris Bolton in the Private Bill Office in the House of Lords and Neil Caulfield in the Private

Bill Office in the House of Commons will be more than happy to give impartial advice on all

aspects of SPO procedure (see Contact details below).

INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

There is further information on the UK Parliament’s website, including the text of the SPO. At

present you can find information on the Special Procedure Order pages here:


orders/

Once an SPO has been laid before Parliament a page will be created for it and links to it will be

placed on the main Special Procedure Order page. Any petitions against an SPO will also be

posted on its own page within a day or so of the end of each petitioning period.

See What happens after petitions have been deposited? above and Appendix B below for information

about the posting of your petition on the Parliament website.

CONTACT DETAILS

See the SPO-specific Information Sheet for contact details for the Minister and the applicant.

27 In other words, it is up to the petitioner to convince the committee either to reject the SPO or that his amendments to it

should be made.




House of Lords Private Bill Office

Contact: Ms Chris Bolton

House of Commons Private Bill Office

Contact: Mr Neil Caulfield

020 7219 3231

fax: 020 7219 2571

e-mail: [email protected]

Ms Chris Bolton

Private Bill Office

First Floor, West Front

House of Lords

London SW1A 0PW

020 7219 6008

fax: 020 7219 3690

e-mail: [email protected]

Mr Neil Caulfield

Private Bill Office

House of Commons

London

SW1A 0AA

House of Commons Ways and Means Office Please contact: Mr Neil Caulfield (in the HC

Private Bill Office (see above)

Please note that the spam filter which Parliament uses occasionally treats a genuine e-mail as

spam. You should receive a reply within a day or two of e-mailing at the most except during

recess periods when you should receive an out of office reply to the first e-mail you send. If you

do not receive a reply you should telephone to check that your e-mail has indeed arrived. If you

leave a message please make sure to leave your phone number or e-mail address so that we can

contact you.

mailto:[email protected]



CHECK LIST: DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE

TYPE OF

PETITION WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING WITH YOU

Petitioning as an individual:

not being represented

by an agent

Signed copy of the petition

Front sheet (Appendix B)

Fee of £101

1 unsigned photocopy of the petition

being represented by a

“Roll A” Agent

The “Roll A” Agent will take care of all necessary paperwork for you

being represented by a

“Roll B” Agent



Fee of £101


Roll B Agent application form (Appendix E)

Certificate of Respectability (Appendix G)

Letter of Authority (Appendix F)

Petition signed by more than one petitioner:

being represented by

one of the co-

petitioners



Fee of £101



a “Roll A” Agent



any other “Roll B”

Agent

Signed copy of the Petition


Fee of £101




Letter of Authority signed by all of the petitioners Appendix F)

Petitioners from organisations, groups etc. (must be represented by an agent):

represented by a “Roll

A” Agent


….continued

1 you will be invoiced for a further £10 after you deposit a copy of your petition in the House of Commons


CHECK LIST: DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO TAKE TO THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE –

continued

Petitioners from organisations, groups etc. (must be represented by an agent): - continued


B” Agent



Fee of £102




Letter of Authority signed by someone who has authority to do so

(Appendix F)

Letter containing the Resolutions passed at a properly constituted meeting

Petitions from companies etc. (must be represented by an agent):


A” Agent



B” Agent



Fee of £102




Letter of Authority (see section Petitions from Companies etc.) naming an

agent & authorising a petition to be presented (a modified Appendix F or

separate letters).

Petitions from local authorities (must be represented by an agent):


A” Agent



B” Agent



Fee of £102




Letter of Authority (see section Petitions from Local Authorities) naming an

agent & authorising a petition to be presented (a modified Appendix F or

separate letters).

2 you will need to pay a further £10 when you deposit a copy of your petition in the House of Commons


WHEN WILL THE JOINT COMMITTEE MEET TO CONSIDER THE SPO?

See also The joint committee above. Sometimes there is a considerable amount of time between the

petitioning period and the committee meeting. This may be for a variety of reasons; the applicant

for the order may be negotiating with petitioners or the committee may be delayed through

pressure of business in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords and the timing of

other committees.

You will be informed, usually by the Promoters’ Agent, as soon as possible of the date you are

scheduled to appear before the committee. We will make every effort to accommodate

reasonable needs but there may be little scope for radically altering the timetable to suit individual

petitioners. If you know you (or any of your witnesses) will be unavailable on certain dates/periods

you should let the Promoters’ Agent know as soon as possible; the more warning they have the

more likely it is that the schedule can be adjusted.

Private Bill Office

House of Lords February 2014


APPENDIX A: PETITION TEMPLATE FOR A PETITION AGAINST A SPECIAL

PROCEDURE ORDER

Note: square brackets “[ ]” show where you should fill in the correct text. Delete the brackets once you have done so.

IN PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS

[SESSION 2013-141]

[TITLE OF ORDER2]

PETITION FOR AMENDMENT3 {Pick one of these

PETITION OF GENERAL OBJECTION4 {lines and delete the other

To the House of Lords

THE PETITION OF [NAME OF INDIVIDUAL, COMPANY OR ASSOCIATION]

Declares that:

1. Your Petitioners are [description of petitioners5: together with a description of the Petitioners'

property, etc. which the SPO may "directly and specially affect"].

2. [A brief, clear statement of the reasons why the petitioner objects to the SPO (for a Petition of

General Objection) or the amendment(s) the petitioner would like to see made to the SPO

and the reasons why he wants them made (for a Petition for Amendment)]

1 For example, the current session would be “SESSION 2013-14”

2 For example, The Able Marine Energy Park Development Consent Order 2014

3 If you are happy with the SPO to proceed but wish to see it amended in some way then this line should stay in the petition and

you should delete the line below (Petition of General Objection) or see footnote 3

4 If you object to the whole SPO this line should stay in the petition and you should delete the line above (Petition for

Amendment), or see footnote 2

5 For example, "Your first Petitioner is an owner of property in. …Your second Petitioner is…", "Your Petitioners are the ...

Society, an association of the residents of ... Road, established in ... to..."; "Your petitioner is A Company Limited, a nominee

company, incorporated in England"…. or, if there is only one petitioner, “Your petitioner is...”


PETITION TEMPLATE – continued

The petitioner(s) therefore request(s) that, should a joint committee consider this SPO,

he/she/they, or someone representing them in accordance with the rules and Standing Orders

of the House, be given an opportunity to give evidence on all or some of the issues raised in this

petition.

And the petitioner(s) remain(s), etc.

[Signature of Petitioner in person, or Agent for the Petitioner]

[date presented]

[name of Agent], Agent6 [name of petitioner signing the petition] Note: The wording given above may be varied, except for the opening section and the prayer request at the end starting "The petitioner(s) therefore requests(s)”.

6 if the petition is signed by an Agent rather than a petitioner. Otherwise deleted this line


PETITION TEMPLATE – continued

The Petition should be endorsed on the back page7 as follows:

IN PARLIAMENT

HOUSE OF LORDS

[SESSION 2013-148]

[TITLE OF ORDER]

PETITION OF

[EACH PETITIONER'S NAME]

Petition of General Objection {choose whichever you used on the front

Petition for Amendment {of the petition and delete the other

Name, and address of at least one of the petitioner(s) or

the Agent for the Petitioner(s)

Please note: the above address will not be released to anyone without the consent of the

petitioner(s)/Agent and will not be posted on the Parliament website. Your original signed petition

together with this endorsement sheet will be kept in the Private Bill Office and subsequently kept

as a record of Parliament in the Parliamentary Archives in a closed file, except where it must be

made available under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Please see Appendix B.

You must complete a copy of Appendix B and hand it in with your petition.

7 In other words, the reverse of the last sheet should show the following information

8 For example, the current session would be “SESSION 2013-14”


APPENDIX B: THIS SHEET MUST BE COMPLETED AND ATTACHED TO THE FRONT OF

YOUR ORIGINAL, SIGNED, PETITION (BUT NOT TO THE COPY)

Please supply the following information:

Phone number of petitioner/Agent:

daytime (mandatory): ..............................................................................................................................

mobile: .........................................................................................................................................................

E-mail address:

I understand:

1. that a copy of this petition, excluding the endorsement page of my petition and without my

signature, will be placed on the Parliamentary website, a hard copy will be made available to the

public and it will be available for inspection in the Parliamentary Archives;

2. that the original signed petition together with the endorsement sheet and this sheet will be kept

in the Private Bill Office and subsequently kept as a record of Parliament in the Parliamentary

Archives in a closed file, except where it must be made available under the Freedom of

Information Act 2000;

3. that the personal information supplied above and on the petition may be kept in a database by

the House of Lords Private Bill Office. This database may be used to store summaries of e-mails

and/or conversations for the purpose of keeping track of procedural advice/information given to

the parties or received from them, or for other internal purposes connected with the Special

Procedure Order. This information will not be shared with any other party unless prior

permission has been obtained from the petitioner/Agent concerned.

signature of petitioner/Agent: ............................................................................................................................................

name of petitioner/Agent (in block letters please): .....................................................................................................

The Parliamentary Agents acting for the Department or the applicant may be assisting with the

programming schedule for the consideration of the petitions against it. They will wish to contact you so

that suitable dates can be arranged with you, and they, or the applicant for the order or the Government

department, may wish to respond to you on the points raised in your petition. Can we make your

contact details available to the Parliamentary Agent (and via them, the applicants for the SPO or the

Government department involved with the SPO)?

YES / NO (please delete as appropriate) or specify if you only want certain details released.


APPENDIX C: REQUISITION FOR WITHDRAWAL OF PETITION

HOUSE OF LORDS

SESSION 2013-14

[NAME OF ORDER]

TO THE PRIVATE BILL OFFICE,

HOUSE OF LORDS

We hereby request to withdraw the Petition of (name of petitioners)

against the above Order deposited by us on .............day of.....................20...

Signature of Petitioner(s) or Agent

print name

date withdrawn

[Private Bill Office stamp with date when received]


APPENDIX D: LIST OF “ROLL A” PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS

Firm Roll A Agent Parliamentary Clerk

Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP

Adelaide House London Bridge London EC4R 9HA

:020-7760 1000 Fax:020-7760 1111 Email: [email protected] Website: www.blplaw.com

Ms Helen Kemp Mr Alan Rosamond

Bircham Dyson Bell LLP

50 Broadway, Westminster London SW1H 0BL

:020-7783 3437 Fax:020-7233 1351 Email: [email protected] Website: www.bdb-law.co.uk

I H McCulloch P H Thompson E N W Brown R J V Owen

Mrs P J Thompson 020–7783 3437 [email protected]

Eversheds LLP

1 Wood Street London, EC2V 7WS

:020–7919 4500 Fax:0845-497 4919 Email: [email protected] Website: www.eversheds.com

J A Durkin Miss M A R Peto S Collings

Mr D C White Mr D A Slevin 0845 497 4800

Pinsent Masons LLP

30 Crown Place Earl Street London EC2A 4ES

:020-7418 7000 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pinsentmasons.com

R J V Owen No Clerk

Sharpe Pritchard LLP

Elizabeth House Fulwood Place London WC1V 6HG

:020-7405 4600 Fax:020-7222 1451 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sharpepritchard.co.uk

W A Lewis E Rh Thomas

Mrs D Baker-Cox


http://www.blplaw.com/


http://www.bdb-law.co.uk/



http://www.eversheds.com/


http://www.pinsentmasons.com/


http://www.sharpepritchard.co.uk/


Veale Wasbrough Vizards LLP

Barnards Inn, 86 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1AD

: 020-7405 1234 Fax:020-7405 4171 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.vwv.co.uk

R E Perry

No Clerk

Winckworth Sherwood LLP

Minerva House 5 Montague Close London SE1 9BB

:020-7593 5000 Fax:020-7593 5199 Email: [email protected] Website: www.wslaw.co.uk

Mrs A M H Gorlov H S Wiggs P M C F Irving

Mr David Walker


http://www.vwv.co.uk/


http://www.wslaw.co.uk/


APPENDIX E: “ROLL B” AGENT APPLICATION FORM

Application form for those wishing to be registered as Parliamentary Agents for the purpose of opposing

special procedure orders in the House of Lords. This should be sent/given to the Private Bill Office, House

of Lords, London SW1A 0PW

Please complete Part 1 or Part 2.

PART 1: FOR A PERSON (OTHER THAN A SOLICITOR), APPLYING TO BE A ROLL B

AGENT FOR THE FIRST TIME

I, of (address)

not being a Solicitor or having been previously registered as a Parliamentary Agent, but actually being

employed during the current session in opposing a special procedure order, herewith submit, in accordance

with paragraph 10 of the Chairman of Committee's Rules for Parliamentary Agents, a certificate of

respectability signed by

who is a Member of Parliament for , a Member of the House of Lords,

a Justice of the Peace, a Barrister, a Solicitor (cross out those which do not apply)

of (give the address of the JP, Chambers or firm of the lawyer)

apply to have my name submitted to the Chairman of Committees for registration, for the session 2013-14

as a Parliamentary Agent entitled to practice as such in opposing special procedure orders.

Signature date

__________________________________________________________

PART 2: FOR SOLICITORS OR THOSE WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN REGISTERED

AS PARLIAMENTARY AGENTS

I, being a member of the firm of (cross out if not a solicitor)

of (address of firm or home address as appropriate)

having previously been registered as a Parliamentary Agent, or, being a Solicitor, and being actually

employed during the current session in opposing a special procedure order, hereby apply to have my name

registered, for the Session 2013-14 as a Parliamentary Agent entitled to practise as such in opposing special

procedure orders.

signature date


APPENDIX F: SPECIMEN LETTER OF AUTHORITY

The letter should be on official stationery if the petitioner has it

I hereby authorise [name of Agent] to act as Agent on behalf of [name of petitioner(s) or

petitioning organisation] in all matters relating to the [name of Special Procedure Order].

[Signature]

[print name, and if appropriate, position in company etc]

Notes

The text in square brackets [ ] describes what should be inserted at that point.

The authority should be given in the form of a letter on the headed paper (if any) of the

petitioner(s) or petitioning organisation and should be signed by the petitioner(s), or, in the case of

an organisation, by an officer of the organisation normally authorised to execute documents on its

behalf.


APPENDIX G: CERTIFICATE OF RESPECTABILITY

To: The Private Bill Office, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW I, .............................................................................................................................

being the Member of Parliament for ............................................................................. ,

a Member of the House of Lords, a Justice of the Peace, a Barrister, a Solicitor* (cross out those which do not apply)

of (give the address of the JP, Chambers or firm of the lawyer) ......................................

...............................................................................................................................

HEREBY CERTIFY THAT (name) ...................................................................................

of (address) .............................................................................................................

is a person of respectability for the purpose of acting as Agent for the petitioners in respect of private legislation, and to appear before any Select Committees of the House of Lords considering private or hybrid bills, hybrid instruments or Special Procedure Orders. signature ................................................... date .......................................................... The certificate can only be given by a Member of either House of Parliament, a Justice of the Peace, a Barrister, or a Solicitor.


APPENDIX H: SPOS MADE UNDER THE PLANNING ACT 2008 – EXTRACT FROM A

RECENT CHAIRMEN’S REPORT OUTLINING THEIR DECISION AS TO WHICH PETITIONS

WERE “PROPER TO BE RECEIVED”

The extract below is Chapter 2 of the First Special Report of the Chairman of Committees and the

Chairman of Ways and Means on the Rookery South (Resource Recovery Facility) Order 2011

Session 2010–12). The whole report can be found here:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/specialprocorder/294/294.pdf

2 Petitions against the Order

9. In order to determine which of the 39 petitions are proper to be received, including whether a

petitioner has locus standi, it is necessary to consider the Planning Act 2008 and the nature of the

Special Procedure Order. Section 128(2) of the 2008 Act states that an order granting

development consent is subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure to the extent that the order

authorises the compulsory acquisition of land which is the property of a local authority, where that

local authority has made representations about the application for the order and those

representations have not been withdrawn. Such land is commonly referred to as “special land”.

10. The principal purpose of the Order is to grant development consent for the construction and

operation of the facility. The provisions which relate to the compulsory acquisition of rights over

the special land are ancillary to that main purpose. The natural interpretation of section 128(2) is

that those ancillary provisions of the order are subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure but

those provisions granting development consent are not. The 1945 Act, however, does not provide

for only part of an order to be subject to Special Parliamentary Procedure: it treats the order as a

single entity and allows for petitions of general objection.

11. The petitioners argued before us that the phrase “to the extent that” in section 128(2) means

no more than “if”, with the result that if a local authority’s representations trigger the operation of

that subsection then the entire order, including the grant of development consent, is open to

parliamentary scrutiny and a joint committee has the power to consider all aspects of the Order

contained in the petitions, effectively re-opening issues already considered at the public inquiry

carried out by the Infrastructure Planning Commission1.

12. We find this argument unattractive. Not only does it conflict with the clear wording of the

2008 Act, but it would mean that the Act had replaced a system whereby the only challenge to

development consent granted following a public inquiry was in the courts on a point of law with

one where Parliament could be required to act as a fresh opportunity to hear the same issues

heard by the public inquiry—effectively a parallel route of appeal, but only if special land is involved.

We cannot accept that that can be what was intended by an Act whose purpose was to speed up

and simplify the development consent process. The purpose of applying Special Parliamentary

Procedure is to provide protection to the rights of those whose special land is subject to

compulsory acquisition and no more. If it is possible to construe the 1945 Act as applying to the

1 See transcript of Chairmen’s Hearing on 8 March 2012, for example para 40 (Alastair Lewis).

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/specialprocorder/294/294.pdf


Order only to the extent that it authorises the compulsory acquisition of special land (in line with

the wording of the 2008 Act) we consider that it should be so construed. Although the wording of

the 1945 Act is difficult to reconcile with such an approach we are satisfied that it is not impossible

to do so. Although we have been referred by the petitioners to various precedents relating to

decisions of our predecessors and joint committees in relation to compulsory purchase orders and

Courts of Referees in relation to Private Bills we do not consider any of them to be directly

applicable to this case, the circumstances of which differ considerably.

13. We therefore conclude that, although the entire Order is subject to Special Parliamentary

Procedure, it is only the provisions of the Order which relate to the compulsory acquisition of the

special land which should be treated as relevant for the purposes of deciding which petitions are

proper to be received.

The parish and town councils

14. The petitions of the parish and town councils (petitions 1 to 34) raise objections to the

construction and operation of the facility. The councils do not claim that their areas are in any way

injuriously affected by the acquisition of the special land, and they acknowledged before us that if

we take the view that the only subject that petitioners can raise is the effect on them of the

compulsory acquisition of the special land then they have no case. We do take that view and

accordingly have decided that the parish and town councils should not be given locus standi and that

therefore the petitions are not proper to be received.

The unitary councils

15. Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council are each owners of special land

the compulsory acquisition of which the Order permits. Their ownership of this land is somewhat

limited: it arises solely in their capacity as highway authorities, which means that there is vested in

them just the surface and “top two spits”2 of the land below the surface. They have no private

rights in the land. Their limited ownership is nevertheless sufficient to grant a landowner locus

standi to be heard. Section 128 of the Planning Act 2008 allows the two councils to trigger the

Special Parliamentary Procedure by virtue of their ownership of the special land. It would be

strange indeed if that ownership was not then sufficient to give them locus standi.

16. Their petitions (numbers 36 to 39) raise objections which are almost all concerned with the

construction and operation of the facility. They do also object to the compulsory acquisition of

their land, however, even if the only prejudice that they identify arising from the acquisition is that

“it is unclear whether the compulsory acquisition of [their] rights over highway land will affect

[their] highway powers and responsibilities”.

17. The petitions for amendment each request two types of amendments to the Order. One set of

amendments relates to the nature of the waste that may be processed at the facility. For the

reasons given above we do not consider that a joint committee should concern itself with these

2 This concept originates from Tithe Redemption Commissioners v Runcorn UDC (1954). See also transcript of the Chairmen’s Hearing 8 March

2012, paragraphs 99–102.


amendments, which do not relate in any way to the acquisition of the special land. The other set of

amendments relate to a proposed Bedford to Milton Keynes Waterway Park, which would involve

the construction of a waterway passing under part of the highway which is special land. The

amendments proposed would, it is said, safeguard this project. They are therefore related to the

acquisition of the special land.

18. We accordingly certify the petitions of general objection of Bedford Borough Council and

Central Bedfordshire Council as proper to be received as petitions of general objection and their

petitions for amendment as proper to be received as petitions for amendment.

The companies

19. The petition of Waste Recycling Group Limited, WRG Waste Services Limited and Anti Waste

Limited is one for amendment (petition 35). The amendments sought would prevent the Order

from applying to the land owned by the companies. Although this land is not special land, some of

it is directly below part of the special land, as the companies own the freehold of land fronting the

highway. The installation of electricity cables in or under the highway land would therefore be

likely to affect their land also, and we therefore conclude that they have demonstrated that they

may be directly affected by the acquisition of some of the special land.

20. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change urged us, were we to allow this petition,

to certify it as one of general objection. We do not consider that to be appropriate. The

amendments sought relate only to the companies’ land and are only liable to affect a part of the

special land.

21. We accordingly certify the companies’ petition as proper to be received as a petition for

amendment.

Documents

SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDER - parliament.uk · SPO-specific Information sheet for the petitioning date for ... If you object to the whole SPO you must present a petition called a Petition