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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the policies set out in her Department’s policy paper entitled Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees, published on 9 December 2024, on local democracy.

The government believe that planning committees have an integral role in providing local democratic oversight of planning decisions. It is however vital that in exercising that democratic oversight, planning committees operate as effectively as possible.

The government’s planning reform working paper on planning committees invites views on a range of proposals designed to support better decision making in the planning system. If we determine to take forward any of the proposals in question, each of which would require primary legislation through the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, they would be the subject of further detailed consultation in the normal way – in particular where necessary to underpin secondary legislation following passage of the Bill.