Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the number of electors registered for a postal vote who were unable to vote in the General Election because of postal delays.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Returning Officers are required at elections to record the number of postal ballot packs received before and after the close of poll and this information is available for public inspection after the election. No separate record is kept by Returning Officers in Great Britain in respect of overseas electors.
The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many postal ballots requested by overseas electors for the General Election were returned by post and received by their local council (a) before and (b) after the deadline to have the vote counted.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Returning Officers are required at elections to record the number of postal ballot packs received before and after the close of poll and this information is available for public inspection after the election. No separate record is kept by Returning Officers in Great Britain in respect of overseas electors.
The Electoral Commission will publish a report on the administration of the General Election held on 4 July later this year, and the Government will give careful consideration to any findings or recommendations made in the report in relation to the current arrangements for postal voting.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to reduce housing targets for local planning authorities in the metropolitan greenbelt where nationally-imposed transport infrastructure is designated and built on land which could otherwise have been used to deliver housing.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Housing targets are an important tool to ensure housing is delivered in the right places – this is critical in tackling the chronic shortage that the country is facing that means owning a home is a distant reality for much of the public.
We cannot local a generation out of homeownership, we must build the homes the next generation needs.
As set out in the manifesto, the Government will restore mandatory housing targets. We will reverse the damaging changes introduced in December 2023 that undermine our growth ambitions and commitment to delivering 1.5 million homes. We will set out more detail in the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) update.
We will take a brownfield first approach, prioritising the development of previously used land wherever possible and fast-tracking approval of urban brownfield sites.
Brownfield alone will never be enough to build the homes we need– which is why we will look to lower quality ‘grey belt’ land where necessary to meet local housing needs.
By enabling democratic engagement with how, not if, homes and infrastructure are built – the major brakes on the planning system will be addressed to support sustainable growth.
We are working at pace on various revisions to the NPPF, with a view to public consultation on a new draft Framework in due course.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make representations to SEGRO on responding to requests for a public meeting on ongoing construction work at the former Radlett Aerodrome site.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Following planning permission being granted for this proposal in 2014, I understand that some site preparation works are currently underway, with construction expected to begin this summer. I am also aware that there are proceedings due to come before the courts next month and as such it would be inappropriate for me to comment on this individual development.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraph 61 of the National Planning Policy Framework, what discussions he has had with the Planning Inspectorate on their interpretation of the word advisory.
Answered by Lee Rowley
When developing new planning policy the department engages with a range of stakeholders including the Planning Inspectorate.
The Government response to the consultation, published alongside the revised Framework, can be found at gov.uk. This sets out in detail the changes made to national policy following the consultation, and the reasons why those changes were made. In addition, the Government response set out that we intend to revise supporting guidance to provide further clarity on the changes to the Framework. The scope and timescales for those changes will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Questions 16908, 16909, 16910, 16911, 16912, 16913 and 16914, and the Answer of 15 March to Questions 18292, 18293, 18294, 18295 and 18296, if he will make an assessment of whether those responses are consistent with the requirements (a) in the Ministerial Code that Ministers should be as open as possible with parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest and (b) in the Guidance on drafting answers to parliamentary questions.
Answered by Lee Rowley
As I have previously outlined, the most up to date and comprehensive information on the changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement and the revised published framework, which is what I referred the Hon Member to.
The purpose of the NPPF is to create a consistent and understood framework for development within an industry that emphasises the importance of certainty and clarity. It is, by definition, the stated position of the Government for that very reason. If the Government has further detail it wishes to impart, it will do so in the usual way.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16913 on Planning Permission: Reform and with reference to the consultation entitled Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy, published on 22 December 2022, and paragraph 35(a) of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2023, if he will publish the justification for retaining 'and is informed by agreements with other authorities, so that unmet need from neighbouring areas is accommodated where it is practical to do so and is consistent with achieving sustainable development' in that Framework.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 16908 on 11 March 2024.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16914 on Green Belt: Planning Permission and with reference to the consultation entitled Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy, published on 22 December 2022, and paragraph 35(a) of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2023, if he will publish the justification for not incorporating the words 'Green Belt boundaries are not required to be reviewed and altered if this would be the only means of meeting the objectively assessed need for housing over the plan period' in that Framework.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 16908 on 11 March 2024.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16908 on Green Belt: Planning Permission and with reference to the revisions made to the National Planning Policy Framework on 19 December 2023 and the Written Ministerial Statement of 19 December 2023 on The Next Stage in Our Long Term Plan for Housing Update, HCWS161, if he will publish specific guidance clarifying whether local authorities being located wholly within the green belt can represent an exceptional circumstance to justify an alternative approach to using the standard method calculation when assessing housing need for the purposes of making a local plan.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 16908 on 11 March 2024.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16912 on Planning Permission: Reform and with reference to the consultation entitled Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill: reforms to national planning policy, published on 22 December 2022, and paragraph 35(a) of the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2023, if he will publish the justification for omitting from that paragraph the words ‘so far as possible, taking into account the policies of’ in that Framework.
Answered by Lee Rowley
I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 16908 on 11 March 2024.