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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the responsibilities are of (a) unitary authorities and (b) mayoral combined authorities to deliver housing targets.

The government have implemented a new mandatory standard method for assessing housing needs which aligns with our ambition to build 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.

Delivering on that ambitious milestone requires local planning authorities to plan for sufficient homes, as well as commercial development and wider infrastructure, through local development plans.

Unitary authorities are local planning authorities for their area and therefore will need to take account of the standard method when updating their local plans.

Mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) are not local planning authorities. However, some MCAs currently have a duty to produce Spatial Development Strategies (SDS), which is a form of strategic level plan.

Further, through our English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December 2024 we were clear that in future, SDSs will be produced for all of England, and where there are MCAs, they will produce the SDS.

Therefore, MCAs will use the new standard method when producing their SDSs, which will set the housing requirement for each local planning authority within its area. Local Plans will then have to be in general conformity with the relevant SDS.