Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2025 to Question 39475 on the Aarhus Convention, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of that convention on the effective operation of the planning system.

The Aarhus Convention sets out obligations on Parties to guarantee certain procedural rights for the public relating to access to environmental information, participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters. The United Kingdom Government remains committed to the effective implementation of its international obligations under the Aarhus Convention, and we consulted on one aspect of this, the cost caps regime last year.

Major infrastructure projects are vital in this Government’s mission to deliver growth across the country, and we want to see them built quicker. Earlier this year we announced part of our response to Lord Banner’s report which set out our reforms to speed up the planning process while making sure people still have the opportunity to bring challenges in court.