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 her oral contribution in the Second Reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 24 March 2025, Official Report, column 659, what steps she is taking to protect high-quality agricultural land.

The government places great importance upon our agricultural land and food production.

We are maintaining the existing strong protection for the best and most versatile agricultural land.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out how the best and most versatile agricultural land should be reflected in planning policies and decisions. The Framework is clear that where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, areas of poorer quality land should be preferred to those of a higher quality.