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 impact of the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on (a) household costs through higher retail prices, (b) food price inflation and (c) business costs for (i) small and medium-sized enterprises and (ii) larger producers; and what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the retail, food manufacturing and packaging sectors on those impacts.

Answered by Mary Creagh

The 2024 final impact assessment for Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) estimated it could result in a one-off increase in CPI inflation of 0.07 percentage points, or an increase to average weekly household expenditure of £0.91. It did not provide a separate estimate of food price inflation. For the average producer, the assessment estimated pEPR costs at less than 1% of turnover. Businesses that do not meet both the £2 million turnover and 50-tonne packaging thresholds are not liable for disposal fees or recycling obligations.

Defra ministers and officials regularly engage with stakeholders on the operation of the scheme.

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 the Government’s target to deliver 1.5 million new homes on long-term water demand in England.

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

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 6660 on 10 June 2026.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring water companies to demonstrate that sufficient water resources are available before large-scale housing developments proceed.

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

I refer the Rt Hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 6660 on 10 June 2026.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of expenditure under the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan that will be spent with UK-based companies; whether he plans to introduce minimum UK content requirements for major defence contracts; and whether he plans to publish a breakdown of the expected regional economic impact of defence spending.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Defence Investment Plan is backed by £298 billion of investment over the next four years. It reaffirms the Government's commitment to strengthening the UK's defence industrial base, supporting economic growth and delivering the capabilities required by our Armed Forces. The Plan includes substantial investment in sovereign capabilities, such as shipbuilding, submarines, munitions production, digital technologies and advanced manufacturing. It also supports jobs and prosperity across all nations and regions of the United Kingdom.

Defence procurement is conducted in accordance with the relevant legislative and commercial frameworks. Decisions on individual contracts are based on capability requirements, national security considerations, operational advantage, value for money and wider economic benefits.

The Government wants to see more of a growing defence budget spent with British firms. Defence is an engine for growth, and we support the mission of the Prime Minister to reindustrialise and believe Defence can play a key part in doing so.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of the Government’s target of 1.5 million new homes that will be delivered on (a) previously developed land, (b) greenfield land within settlements, (c) greenfield land outside settlements, (d) Green Belt land released through local plans and (e) Grey Belt land.

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

My Department does not hold this information.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance he has issued on accountability where planning decisions are delegated to officers; whether planning officers will be required to publish written reasons for delegated decisions in all cases; what right (a) applicants, (b) ward councillors and (c) members of the public will have to request elected member consideration; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of democratic oversight in the new arrangements.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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 the draft National Planning Policy Framework on the amount of development expected to take place on (a) greenfield land and (b) land outside defined settlement boundaries; whether his Department has modelled the effect of Policy S5 on the volume of speculative planning applications for unallocated sites; and if he will publish that assessment.

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

By law, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The National Planning Policy Framework must be taken into account in preparing the development plan, and is a material consideration in planning decisions.

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 the draft National Planning Policy Framework on the capacity of local planning authorities to refuse planning applications that conflict with locally adopted planning policies; whether he expects National Decision-Making Policies to take precedence over locally adopted development management policies in practice; and if he will publish that assessment.

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

By law, planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The National Planning Policy Framework must be taken into account in preparing the development plan, and is a material consideration in planning decisions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the proportion of planning applications in England that will be determined by (a) elected planning committees and (b) planning officers following the introduction of the National Scheme of Delegation; what assessment he has made of the impact of those changes on local democratic accountability; and whether he plans to publish annual statistics on the proportion of planning applications determined by officers and by elected members.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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 (a) the National Scheme of Delegation on progress towards the Government’s target of delivering 1.5 million homes and (b) a reduction in the number of planning applications determined by elected planning committees on local democratic input into housing development.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what circumstances will permit an application that would otherwise be delegated to a planning officer to be referred to a planning committee; what role ward councillors will have in requesting such referrals; and what assessment he has made of the consistency of those arrangements across local planning authorities.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the reduction in the number of planning applications considered by elected planning committees as a result of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025; and what assessment he has made of the impact of this on the role of elected councillors in determining planning applications.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local planning authorities will be required to publish data on (a) the number of applications determined by officers, (b) the number determined by planning committees, (c) applications referred to committee but refused permission to do so and (d) the reasons why applications were not considered by elected members.

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

My Department has published statutory guidance setting out how the national scheme of delegation will operate, including the arrangements for referral to planning committees and transparency and reporting requirements. This can be found on gov.uk here.

An updated impact assessment was reviewed by the Regulatory Policy Committee and published alongside the final Regulations (The Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026). This can be found on gov.uk here.

My Department already publishes data on applications which are delegated to planning officers. Once the Regulations in question come into force on 31st October 2026, we will collect data on applications referred to planning committees. This information will be published alongside other national planning statistics on gov.uk here.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of local planning authorities which will meet the housing requirements generated by the revised standard method; what estimate he has made of the number of authorities which will meet the Housing Delivery Test or five-year housing land supply requirements; and whether he has assessed the impact this would have on the number of speculative planning applications determined under the presumption in favour of sustainable development.

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

The standard method identifies a minimum annual housing need figure and ensures that plan-making is informed by an unconstrained assessment of the number of homes needed in an area. It does not produce a housing requirement figure. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should then make an assessment of the amount of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability, constraints on development and any other relevant matters.

Local planning authorities with up-to-date plans are assessed against their adopted plan housing requirement for the purposes of the Housing Delivery Test (HDT) and five-year housing land supply (5YHLS). Where an authority does not have an up-to-date plan, local housing need (calculated using the standard method) is used.

The current HDT results are the 2023 measurement, published on 12 December 2024. These results continue to apply until a subsequent Housing Delivery Test measurement is published. We remain committed to publishing the 2024 and 2025 HDT results as soon as possible. The Department does not formally collect 5YHLS data. The 5YHLS position of any given authority is often in flux and typically determined through planning appeals. As such, there are challenges in capturing comprehensive and robust data at any given time.

My Department has made no specific assessment of the impact of the revised standard method published on 12 December 2024 on the number of speculative planning applications determined under the presumption in favour of sustainable development. While failing against either HDT or 5YHLS is a strong indicator of housing need in an area not being sufficiently met, it does not mean that planning permission for housing will be automatically granted, and local planning authorities must consider a range of factors when determining planning applications.

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 whether the revised National Planning Policy Framework will increase the number of planning permissions granted before supporting infrastructure is delivered; what assessment he has made of the likely impact on (a) GP surgeries, (b) school places, (c) highways capacity and (d) water infrastructure; and whether he intends to require infrastructure to be delivered before the occupation of new housing developments.

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

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published in December 2024 makes clear that local planning authorities should plan positively for the provision and use of shared spaces, community facilities, transport and other infrastructure to enhance the sustainability of communities and residential environments, taking into account local strategies to improve health, social and cultural wellbeing for all sections of the community.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new NPPF. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to community facilities and public service infrastructure.

We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.

Found: Adroddiad Blynyddol 2018/19 2 Rhagair gan yr Is-Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Seneddol dros Gyfiawnder Wendy Morton

Found: Annual Report 2018/19 2 Foreword from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice Wendy Morton

Found: Letter dated 29/07/2026 from Wendy Morton MP to Calvin Bailey MP regarding a parliamentary question concerning