Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to replicate the system of Historic Environment Records used in Wales in England.

In England local planning authorities are required to have regard to the terms of the National Planning Policy Framework, which indicates that they should either maintain or have access to an Historical Environment Records (HER).

The Heritage Information Access Strategy (HIAS) programme intends to secure an improved and more cost effective approach to handling digital historic environment data, especially that held by local authority Historic Environment Records. It is intended to improve the accessibility of that information and work with HERs to become more user focused. As part of HIAS Historic England will continue to champion the development, maintenance and implementation of standards for the creation, management and storage of digital historic environment data.