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 guarantee protection of Green Belt land in future legislation.

The Government continues to prioritise protection for Green Belt. The reforms put forward in our White Paper Planning for the Future made clear that local authorities would need to categorise Green Belt as a protected area in the proposed new planning system.

The protections for the Green Belt set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, and the strong encouragement to prioritise re-use of suitable brownfield land, will remain in place, in line with our manifesto commitments.

The White Paper consultation closed on 29 October 2020 and we are currently considering the responses received. The Government will publish a response which will set out any decisions and associated proposed implementation.