Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what environmental impact assessment his Department has carried out in relation to the proposed changes to the planning rules relating to Sites of Interest for Nature Conservation contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.

We have not conducted a formal environmental impact assessment of the draft changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). However we have engaged a wide range of relevant stakeholders, including environmental organisations, through our consultation on the draft to consider the potential impacts of the proposed revisions. The revised NPPF and the Government’s response will be published this Summer.