Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to ensure that new housing in rural areas comes with necessary improvements to local infrastructure.

The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities, including those in rural locations. Where infrastructure is required as a result of new development, local planning authorities can require contributions from developers towards that infrastructure. Contributions can be sought through Section 106 agreements and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

To create a more efficient, effective and transparent system, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes a new Infrastructure Levy. This will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and CIL charge.

The Bill will require local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies. These will set out a strategy for delivering local infrastructure through spending Levy proceeds. They will create a more transparent process for local people on how funds will be spent and what infrastructure will be delivered to support development. It will be for local councils to decide which infrastructure projects they spend the proceeds on.

The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We intend to consult on this detail, prior to any publication of regulations.