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 the policy paper entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published on 17 March 2025, what steps her Department is taking to review the compliance costs related to planning regulations.

My Department is progressing a bold set of reforms to the planning system to support the delivery of new homes and critical infrastructure. These reforms will streamline planning procedures and reduce the cost of planning for developers, local planning authorities and others engaged in the planning system.

Key measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill include a faster and more certain Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime, a new strategic approach to nature recovery for development, and the modernisation of planning committees. We are also reviewing the role of statutory consultees.

All reforms to planning law and regulations which affect businesses are subject to Impact Assessments to identify the costs and benefits of those reforms.