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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of planning permissions awarded for developments of between 10 and 49 homes.

Planning applications statistics make clear that there has been a small reduction in the percentage of homes in planning permissions that are on sites of between 10-49 homes, from 11% in 2022-23 to 10% in 2024-25.

The reasons for this marginal reduction are multifaceted, but an important factor is the fact that sites of this size are primarily built out by small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders who face challenges accessing finance and land and are disproportionately impacted by onerous regulatory burdens.

As a government we are clear that ramping up housing delivery requires us to diversify the housebuilding market. Integral to such diversification is not merely arresting but reversing the decline of SME housebuilders that has taken place over recent decades. That is why we have acted to support them by increasing their access to land, providing further financial assistance, and easing the burden of regulation.