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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether nutrient neutrality mitigation levy measures will be subject to economic viability assessments; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the additional mitigation levy measures on the amount that can be levied through (a) the Community Infrastructure Levy and (b) Section 106 agreements.

The government committed in our manifesto to unlock development affected by nutrient neutrality. Our proposals will deliver economies of scale and efficiency improvements for existing environmental obligations, streamlining the planning process and reducing costly delays and uncertainty for developers. This will result in a smoother and more efficient way for developers to discharge their existing environmental obligations, as opposed to creating new ones. The government is committed to tackling impacts at source, also reducing the cost burden on development.

These proposals will be considered as part of the wider Impact Assessment as part of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. We published a working paper and will develop the detail of how the levy will operate taking into account the responses to it.