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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government is taking steps to help ensure that hospitality businesses are not subject to conflicting decisions between licensing and planning authorities.

Due to the quasi-judicial role of MHCLG Ministers in the planning system, I am unable to comment on the details of specific planning applications or proposals.

It is for individual local planning authorities to take enforcement action depending on the particular circumstances of each case.

Between 16 December 2025 and 10 March 2026, we consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework. That consultation, which can be found on gov.uk here, included proposals relating to the relationship between planning and other regulatory regimes, including licencing.

The draft Framework sets out that planning decisions should not seek to duplicate or extend controls imposed by separate regulatory regimes, but matters which are controlled by separate regulatory regimes may, in the context of a particular development proposal, be a material consideration where they have land-use implications. It also encourages the parallel processing of planning and other regulatory consents where this can help to align and expedite the consenting of development.

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