Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what training programmes they are putting into place for local planning officers to ensure they understand the implications of the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department funds the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) to provide specialist training, peer learning and guidance for local planning authorities, including on implementing planning reforms and the National Planning Policy Framework. During the 2025–26 financial year, we allocated approximately £2.8 million to PAS, and officials collaborate closely with PAS to turn policy objectives into practical support.

Furthermore, we are taking action to improve planning capacity and capability. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the Chancellor announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system as a one-year settlement for 2025-2026.

At the Budget on 26 November 2025, the Chancellor announced a further £48 million of investment over three years to support local planning authorities to attract, retain and develop skilled planners over a sustained period.

Of this, £28.8 million has been allocated to MHCLG’s Planning Capacity and Capability Programme, equating to £9.6 million additional per year for the next three years. This allocation will supplement existing budgets.

In total, the Programme now aims to deliver around 1,325 planners by the end of this Parliament, significantly exceeding our original manifesto commitment to deliver 300 new planning officers. Wider cross-government recruitment and investment in planning capacity and capability will increase this figure further to approximately 1,400 planners.

The new funding will support both graduate and mid-career entry routes into planning, including by means of expanding the Pathways to Planning Graduate Scheme and establishing a Planning Careers Hub.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to ensure that sanctions are taken against local planning authorities who either refuse applications for non-planning reasons or who do not apply a presumption in favour of sustainable development in the pre-application process.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The planning performance regime monitors local planning authorities on the speed and quality of their decisions. Quality is assessed by the proportion of decisions overturned at appeal, which can include refusals for non-planning reasons or failure to apply the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

If more than 10% of decisions are overturned, the Secretary of State may designate the authority for poor performance. Designation requires the authority to prepare an improvement plan, and applicants may choose to submit relevant applications directly to the Planning Inspectorate for determination.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what evidential basis or analysis they hold to determine whether the prospect of a local planning authority incurring a cost award in a planning appeal is sufficient incentive to ensure local planning authorities appropriately apply the policies in the National Planning Policy Framework in regard to grey belt and the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department has made no such assessment.

The award of costs regime exists to encourage good behaviour by all parties in the planning process. Costs may be awarded where a party has behaved unreasonably and has caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense.

Planning decisions are required to be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where local planning authorities have exercised their duty to determine planning applications in a reasonable manner, even if they are overturned at appeal, they should not normally be liable for an award of costs.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of applying more stringent penalties to local planning authorities when developments are allowed on appeal, such as automatic costs awards in favour of the applicant or other measures.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department has made no such assessment.

The award of costs regime exists to encourage good behaviour by all parties in the planning process. Costs may be awarded where a party has behaved unreasonably and has caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense.

Planning decisions are required to be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where local planning authorities have exercised their duty to determine planning applications in a reasonable manner, even if they are overturned at appeal, they should not normally be liable for an award of costs.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of planning applicants who do not request cost awards in appeals on account of the local planning authority’s monopoly position.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department has made no such assessment.

The award of costs regime exists to encourage good behaviour by all parties in the planning process. Costs may be awarded where a party has behaved unreasonably and has caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense.

Planning decisions are required to be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where local planning authorities have exercised their duty to determine planning applications in a reasonable manner, even if they are overturned at appeal, they should not normally be liable for an award of costs.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of local planning authorities who do not pay cost awards in relation to planning decisions.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department has made no such assessment.

The award of costs regime exists to encourage good behaviour by all parties in the planning process. Costs may be awarded where a party has behaved unreasonably and has caused another party to incur unnecessary or wasted expense.

Planning decisions are required to be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Where local planning authorities have exercised their duty to determine planning applications in a reasonable manner, even if they are overturned at appeal, they should not normally be liable for an award of costs.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many planning appeals relating to grey belt land have been allowed in the past two years.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Planning Inspectorate does not hold the requested information in a readily searchable way, and planning appeals do not have a marker for Grey Belt. As such, it is not possible to identify planning appeal decisions relating to grey belt in the past two years.