Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's policy is on the provision of additional local services after significant development takes place in a community.

I recognise the importance of ensuring new housing development is supported by the provision of infrastructure and appropriate services. Local authorities have responsibilities for planning for local development and the infrastructure to support it. The resources available include grant funding, loan finance, developer contributions and council tax.

At the 2021 Spending Review, the Government announced a £1.8 billion package of investment to regenerate communities and level up the country, unlocking up to 160,000 new homes in total. This includes £1.5 billion to regenerate underused land and deliver transport links and community facilities.

Contributions from developers also play an important role in delivering the infrastructure to support communities and local economies. The Government is exploring the creation of a new ‘Infrastructure Levy’ to replace the existing system of developer contributions. This would deliver more of the infrastructure these communities require by capturing a greater share of the uplift in land value that comes with development.

New development will increase the council tax base for local authorities, supporting the delivery of services. Other Government Departments may also provide funding, to support the expansion and ongoing delivery of services, in line with their wider approach to capital and resource spending.

The provisional Local Government Settlement for 2022-23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022-23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services.