Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what criteria she will use to determine national spatial priorities under the Land Use Framework.

The Land Use Framework informs decision-makers at all scales of spatial planning to identify areas to be safeguarded for agriculture or prioritised for nature, and to find the right areas for development and infrastructure.

The Framework will support a more strategic approach to spatial planning, which will help to manage trade-offs at a local level to ensure land use change is coherent and fair, and takes account of local knowledge and values.

Publishing the Framework was the first step. This year we will establish a Land Use Unit to put the framework into action and share updated analysis online.