Pickles pledges to ditch Government's housing and planning 'quangos' » Housing » 24dash.com

The Tories today vowed to scrap the Government's new planning body along with a "long list" of other quangos.

Shadow local government secretary Eric Pickles said the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which will take major decisions on projects such as airports and power stations, would be abolished.

He also set out plans to provide funding to restore weekly rubbish collection across England and criticised the Government over its 'clunking fist' of unattainable housing targets that have led to a 'glut of flats nobody wants and a lack of 'decent family homes'.

Mr Pickles told the Conservative Party conference that the IPC, which will be created under the Planning Bill currently going through Parliament, would be staffed by "quangocrats" and take power away from local councils.

"We are going to put local communities back in charge. We are going to have councillors responsible for their actions.

"Nobody is going to be able to hide behind decisions taken miles away."

In his speech to party supporters, he added: "Next month we will set out our plans to give more power to local councils and through them directly to the people.

"Real power, real control and real accountability.

"To start with, we will scrap a number of unelected, unaccountable quangos.

"I am not going to read out a long list. All you need to know about them is that they are useless, pointless and they are going to go."

He accused Labour of planning to "bulldoze our green belt and let rip with the concrete mixer" as part of its housebuilding programme.

Turning to rubbish collection, Mr Pickles pledged to take on the "bin bullies".

Mr Pickles said at the current rate weekly rubbish collections would disappear by 2013.

He said: "Conservatives believe that decent rubbish collections are a vital frontline council service to help protect the local environment and public health.

"We reject Labour's army of bin bullies and bin taxes. That is why David Cameron has pledged that we will provide funding to allow all councils to introduce proper weekly rubbish collections, on top of recycling.

"Under a Conservative government, the weekly bin collection will be back and recycling will go up."

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears branded the move to increase spending on rubbish collection while promising a freeze in council tax - as announced by shadow chancellor George Osborne on Monday - a "con".

She said: "The truth is their council tax pledge is a con and they have failed to set out where they would find any of the savings needed either to freeze council tax or to spend more on bin collection."