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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when the designated rural areas specified in the Housing (Right to Acquire or Enfranchise) (Designated Rural Areas in the South West) Order 1997 were last reviewed; and whether she plans to review them.

The Right to Acquire rural designation orders have not been formally reviewed since their introduction in 1997.

Through the Social Housing Bill, the government is reforming the framework of rural designation as it applies to the Right to Buy. An amendment introduced at Commons Committee Stage specifies that the criteria for rural designation for the Right to Buy will be set out in regulations.

This will give a power to local authorities to self-designate eligible areas against specified rural criteria.

The government intends to align the Right to Acquire with the Right to Buy rural designation framework to ensure a consistent application across both schemes.