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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Government press release entitled Mayors given powers to green light developments, published on 23 August 2026, what assessment has been made of whether the proposed call-in powers could result in major developments being approved despite the objections of the local planning authority.

Following implementation of the planning powers for mayors of strategic authorities provided for by English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, the majority of planning applications will continue to be dealt with by local planning authorities and the way members of the public engage with a planning application will remain unchanged.

Only potential developments of strategic importance will be affected and, if applications for such developers are called-in by a mayor, they must also take any material planning matters previously raised by the community and the local planning authority into account when determining the application.

The consultation on planning powers for mayors closed on 5 October and we are currently analysing the feedback received.