Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, for what reason his Department notified the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about the resubmission of the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets; and whether that notification included material planning grounds for requesting that the Secretary of State exercise powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to determine the planning application.

In the anticipation of press interest in the application, FCDO officials notified colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) of the resubmission of the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in Tower Hamlets. This notification did not express any views on the exercise of the powers that the Secretary of State, MHCLG, has under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to call in and determine the planning application. The decision to call in the planning application was a decision of the Deputy Prime Minister in her capacity as Secretary of State, MHCLG, and was made in line with current policy on call-in.