Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding was allocated by her Department to support local communities to develop neighbourhood plans in the (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25, (c) 2025-26 financial years; and how much has been allocated for each year of the Spending Review.

Details of the contracts that the Department awarded to support neighbourhood planning are available on the contracts finder website.

Funding was allocated to support contracts worth, excluding VAT, (a) £6.37m in 2023/24, (b) £6.96m in 2024/25 and c) £0.43m in 2025/26.

Following the Spending Review, my Department announced that it is unable to commission new neighbourhood planning support services for 2025 onwards.

Technical support which has already been awarded will continue to be provided but must be completed before the end of March 2026.

We will ensure that local planning authorities continue to be appropriately funded for their neighbourhood planning function, including funding for neighbourhood planning examinations.

The government remains of the view that neighbourhood plans can play an important role in the planning system. Communities can continue to prepare neighbourhood plans where they consider that doing so is in their best interests.