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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department issues on consultation with the Ministry of Defence to local authorities with Ministry of Defence facilities or land within their street lighting provision which plan to turn off street lighting for periods during the night.

My Department has not issued any guidance to local authorities in consultation with the Ministry of Defence about street lighting. It is up to locally elected councillors to make decisions on street lighting reflecting local circumstances and views.

Although there is no prescriptive Whitehall guidance on street lighting, the Government publication, Manual for Streets (2007), while out of date in certain areas (e.g. on parking and density), contains some useful guidance on getting the balance right when providing street lighting, taking into account the different issues around safety, street clutter and light pollution. It can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/maual-for-streets.