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 support affordable housing delivery in rural areas.

The government is currently consulting on a new National Planning Policy Framework, that includes clearer, ‘rules based’ policies for decision-making and plan-making.

The consultation includes proposals to strengthen support for rural exception sites, which deliver affordable housing to meet local needs in rural areas, and to make it easier for authorities to require affordable housing on smaller sites in rural areas.

The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 101017 on 6 January 2026 and to the Written Ministerial Statements made on 2 July 2025 (HCWS771) and 28 January (HCWS1283).