Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether planning permission should only be granted in a tilted balance scenario where there is evidence that delivery of the proposal would fall within the 5 year housing land supply period.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for the relevant decision maker to determine the weight to give to relevant policies in light of the specific facts and circumstances of any given planning application, including in the application of the tilted balance.
Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, the government consulted on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). The consultation on the revised Framework, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals for a revised presumption in favour of sustainable development, underpinning the way the new policies direct different forms of development to the most appropriate locations – in effect applying a permanent presumption in favour of suitably located development.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local planning authorities have been provided with a 31 December 2026 start date for the preparation of new local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposing different start dates for the preparation of new local plans on local planning authorities, in the context of local government reorganisation in West Sussex.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of joint plan-making where his Department has mandated different start dates for the preparation of new local plans.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will consider postponing the start dates for local plan-making for areas undergoing Local Government Reorganisation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The transitional provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2026, set out the dates by which local planning authorities are required to start plan-making. It is the responsibility of individual local planning authorities to ensure they meet these requirements.
Local government reorganisation should not delay plan making. Local planning authorities who will form part of a new unitary authority should work together either on a joint plan or to align plan-making as far as practicable.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will consider creating a mandatory buyback scheme for owners of shared ownership homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Landlords have the option to buy back homes where shared owners are unable to sell due to building safety issues, and they can use their own resource or Recycled Capital Grant Funding to do so.
Shared ownership providers are independent bodies, and decisions about the management, sale or repurchase of individual homes sit with them.
While buyback provisions already apply in some limited circumstances, such as in Designated Protected Areas or where providers offer discretionary support in exceptional cases, the government has no current plans to introduce a mandatory buyback scheme for all shared ownership homes.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what consultation his Department has had with local planning authorities on section 78c of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department consulted on changes to policy in respect of 5-year housing land supply as part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework that took place between 30 July and 24 September 2024. Paragraph 78c was introduced in the December 2024 National Planning Policy Framework update.
A government response, which can be found on gov.uk here, was published alongside the updated Framework. It made clear that there are many authorities whose local housing need figures will be substantially larger than their adopted or emerging local plan housing requirement figures, indicating a significant unmet demand for new homes in these areas. To help close the gap, we are introducing a new requirement that authorities with plans adopted under the old standard method must provide an extra year’s worth of homes in their 5-year housing pipeline.
As such, those authorities whose adopted plan annual housing requirement figure is 80% or less of their annual local housing need figure will be required to add a 20% buffer to their 5-year housing land supply from 1 July 2026. This window will give these authorities time to make provision for the new policy. As with other housing supply buffers, this will not be cumulative, so those authorities who are already required to add a 20% buffer due to scoring below 85% in the most recent housing delivery test will not be required to add an additional buffer should they meet these criteria.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of places available for educational psychology courses at universities in England, and whether she has considered salaried training routes for experienced professionals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recently announced £26 million investment to train at least 200 new educational psychologists per year, starting in 2026 and 2027. This is set to be followed by further investment from 2028 to train more educational psychologists than we currently do, subject to future spending reviews. This builds on £31 million invested to train around 200 educational psychologists annually since 2023.
To qualify, trainees are required to undertake a three year doctorate training course. The department funds the tuition fees and year one bursary payment. In years two and three, trainees are based on placements across England, with placement providers funding a bursary or salary for these years.
Following graduation, department-funded trainees are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period (three years for trainees who began in September 2024).
This investment in the training scheme will help to grow local authority workforces, so that more educational psychologists are available to provide a variety of support, including identifying and supporting needs earlier and bolstering capacity to deliver assessments.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of representation of the horticultural industry on the Farming and Food Partnership Board.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The first meeting of the Board took place on 25 March 2026 with an initial membership of 7 industry leads and experts. Together, this initial group provided coverage and expertise across farming and food production, distribution, processing and manufacturing, and the domestic and international markets. This group considered the need for additional members ahead of the next Board meeting.
The first meeting agreed the Board’s work should be supported by additional task and finish sub-groups, as well as sector led groups developing Sector Growth Plans.
Following the first meeting, the Board has invited the Horticulture Expert Growers Group to work with the Fruit & Veg Coalition and the Environmental Horticulture Group and immediately begin work on the first Sector Growth Plan for the horticultural sector. This will ensure that the expertise and insights of the horticultural industry are fully considered by the Board.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increases in infant formula prices on families.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that infant formula prices have risen significantly in recent years, and stakeholder evidence highlighted risks such as unsafe feeding practices and food insecurity among families struggling to afford formula. It is vital that families who cannot or choose not to breastfeed have access to infant formula that is affordable and high quality.
Infant formula regulations set robust nutritional and compositional standards, which means that all infant formulas for sale in the United Kingdom are suitable for meeting the nutritional requirements of babies, regardless of price or brand. These regulations do not control or set the price of infant formula.
In December 2025, the four governments of the UK published their joint response to the CMA’s market study on the infant and follow-on formula market, which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-government-response-to-cma-market-study
This sets out a package of measures that will help give parents and carers the confidence to choose lower priced products, encourage manufacturers and retailers to compete more on price, and remove unnecessary barriers to affordability. Switching from the most expensive product to the cheapest could save up to £540 over the first year of an infant’s life.
Measures include providing greater clarity on when and how vouchers, gift cards, and loyalty or reward schemes can be used to buy infant formula, and updated guidance on this point will be published shortly.
Other measures to support families include the Government’s Healthy Start Scheme, which aims to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households.
In April 2026 we will increase the value of Healthy Start weekly payments by 10% to £4.65, from £4.25, for pregnant women and children over one and under four years old, and to £9.30, from £8.50, for children under one years old. This will boost support for those families who need it the most. Healthy Start funding can be used to buy, or be put towards, the cost of fruit, vegetables, milk, and infant formula.