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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government response to the proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system consultation, last updated on 27 February 2025, whether she plans to provide local authorities with powers to charge a fee for Listed Building Consent planning applications.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

Planning fees in England are set by the Secretary of State. Local planning authorities cannot charge a fee for listed building consent applications.

Under the government’s proposals for localised fee setting in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, government may continue to prescribe where a fee should not be charged for a particular type of application.

The government intends to consult on the details of localised fee setting later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the number of mobile infrastructure litigation cases that have been processed via the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber following changes to the Electronic Communications Code 2017; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact on caseloads of changes to be introduced via the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The information relating to the number of mobile infrastructure litigation cases that have been processed via the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) is not centrally recorded and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

We continue to monitor and review demand and work closely with the judiciary and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in respect of the impact of caseloads under the Product Security and telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement on Local Government Finance on 24 February 2025, HCWS461, whether her Department plans to take steps to prevent local authorities from disposing of community and heritage assets.

Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government is clear that public ownership of locally significant assets should be protected to ensure residents can continue to benefit from them. In February, government set out an expectation to councils in receipt of Exceptional Financial Support that, where a council is considering funding this support through asset sales, they should avoid the disposal of community heritage assets where possible. It is for a local authority to ensure they satisfy this expectation in the context of their overall financial position.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposals on cooling-off rights in the consultation on the implementation of the new subscription contracts regime, published on 18 November 2024, on (a) the heritage sector and (b) visitor attractions.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Consultation on the implementation of the new subscriptions contract regime closed on 10 February 2025. We are analysing the responses, including submissions from the heritage and visitor attraction sectors. Officials have also met with relevant representatives and individual organisations in those sectors to hear their views.

The impact assessment for the subscriptions chapter in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act can be found here: Subscription traps: annex 2 impact assessment. Together the subscription measures are anticipated to provide £400m of consumer benefits per year and the estimated net cost to businesses is £171m per year.