Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill (Second sitting)

Greg Smith Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 21st June 2022 Public Bill Committees

[The Chair]

Greg Smith, you have half a minute for a question and half a minute for an answer.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

Q Thank you, Sir Mark. A big theme we are talking about today is localism in the Bill. Many a council over recent decades has been elected on a promise to stop overdevelopment, only to then preside over massive development. The common excuse is Government targets. Should there be a nationally set house building number, or should it be left entirely to local areas to decide what is needed?

[The Chair]

Who do you want to answer that?

[Greg Smith]

Let’s go to Councillor Jamieson, who is chairman of the Local Government Association.

Cllr Jamieson: I represent localism, and I think it is all about localism. The Government need to be very clear about their objectives. Setting national targets and then blaming councils when houses are built and forced through on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate is slightly disingenuous.

[The Chair]

Order. I am afraid that that brings us to the end of the time allotted for the Committee to ask questions in this afternoon’s sitting. On behalf of the Committee, I thank our witnesses for their evidence. The Committee will meet again at 11.30 am on Thursday in this room to hear further oral evidence. Thank you all for attending.