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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria local authorities are assessed against before his Department decides to intervene in the Local Plan process.

The local plan intervention criteria were confirmed in the 2017 Housing White Paper, and subsequently through a Written Statement in the House of Commons on 16 November 2017:

• the least progress in plan-making had been made;
• policies in plans had not been kept up to date;
• there was higher housing pressure; and
• intervention would have the greatest effect in accelerating local plan production

We also made clear that decisions on intervention would also be informed by the wider planning context in each area (specifically, the extent to which authorities are working cooperatively to put strategic plans in place, and the potential effect that not having a plan has on neighbourhood planning activity)

In August 2020, we consulted on a set of revised intervention criteria through the Planning White Paper:

• the level of housing requirement in the area;
• the planning context of the area, including any co-operation to get plans in place across local planning authority boundaries;
• any exceptional circumstances presented by the local planning authority

Consideration is currently being given to consultation responses received, and any changes to the criteria will be considered alongside the wider proposals for planning reform as set out in the White Paper.