Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what weighting the Land Use Framework will have in planning decision making.

The Government is currently consulting on land use in England, the outcome of which will inform the publication of a Land Use Framework, planned for later this year. The Government is committed to building 1.5 million homes and the new infrastructure needed to deliver resilient and sustainable growth and clean energy; the Land Use Framework will play in a key role in delivering these commitments.

The Land Use Framework will provide the principles, advanced data and tools required to support national and local government, landowners, businesses, farmers, and nature groups in making the right decisions to meet the demands on their land.

By law, planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. What constitutes a material consideration is broadly defined and is for the decision-maker to determine based on the circumstances of the case, as is the weight to give to each material consideration.