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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance he provides to local councils to help them secure faster build-out rates from new developments.

The National Planning Policy Framework clearly sets out that local authorities should work proactively with developers to secure developments that improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of their areas. We are taking forward measures to speed up the process of discharging planning conditions, which will help ensure work starts on site quickly once planning permission has been granted. In addition, in their statement on 11 May 2016, the House Builder’s Federation announced steps they would take to improve transparency about build out and help inform both plan making and planning decisions.