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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), whether additional homes already committed to in a local plan will count towards the ministerial commitment to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

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

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), for each identified new town, how many of the additional homes identified are already committed to in a local plan.

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

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) on 7 April (HC40908), what communications representatives of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation have made to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on (1) the Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest designation or (2) the presence or absence of distinguished jumping spiders within land owned by the Development Corporation for development, since 4 July 2024.

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

The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, as the sponsor department, has regular discussions with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation on matters relevant to its core objectives including the impact of the Site of Special Scientific Interest.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 13 October (HLWS946), what evidential basis or metric will be used to determine when a new town has spades in the ground.

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

On 28 September, the government published the New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response.

As set out in their report, the Taskforce have prioritised sites where housing can be delivered quickly to reflect the urgent need for housing and with high quality placemaking standards. New towns are necessarily long-term projects which should continue to grow over decades to come, but government is determined to begin work as soon as possible, with spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament.

The government takes on board the Taskforce’s recommendations to consider the interaction between new towns and housing targets ahead of its fuller response. We want to ensure that the right incentives are in place to support proactive local authorities to work with us to bring new towns forward.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) on 7 April (HC40908), what communications representatives of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation have made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on (1) the Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest designation or (2) the presence or absence of distinguished jumping spiders within land owned by the Development Corporation for development, since 4 July 2024.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Other than a site visit to the Swanscombe Peninsula Site of Special Scientific Interest, hosted by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC) in July 2025 and attended by officials from Defra, Natural England, and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, EDC has made no communication to the Department since 4 July 2024.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the starting date by which the net additional dwellings will be measured for the purposes of their target of delivering 1.5 million homes this Parliament, and whether it will include net additional homes delivered before 4 July 2024, but reported later.

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

Progress toward the government’s Plan for Change milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament will be measured through the number of net additional dwellings.

Whilst net additional dwellings are collected on a financial year basis only, we estimate net additional dwellings from the start of the parliament on Tuesday 9 July 2024.

The latest data on net additional dwellings can be found on gov.uk here.