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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps with planning authorities to ensure that planning permission is granted only when local services are able to manage with increased demand.

The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. The Levy will allow infrastructure like schools, GP surgeries and new roads to be provided in a more effective, transparent and efficient manner. Local authorities will be able either to fund this provision themselves, or require developers to deliver them.

The new Levy will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and Community Infrastructure Levy. It will aim to capture land value uplift at a higher level than the current developer contribution regime.

The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We have published a technical consultation on the Infrastructure Levy, closing 9 June.