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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to protect local democracy when changing the referral criteria to require Local Planning Authorities to notify the Department where they intend to refuse an application for 150 homes or more.

The power to call in planning applications is a long-established one. Decisions on call-in are a question of jurisdiction and not a view on the merits of any given application.

The policy on call in, as set out in a Written Ministerial Statement of 26 October 2012, is unchanged.

The proposed requirement for Local Planning Authorities to refer additional applications will not mean that all such applications will be called in.

All decisions on planning applications, whether called in or not, are made in line with the development plan for an area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.