Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether (a) value for money assessments of and (b) comparative value for money assessments of alternative projects proposed through the Development Consent Order process will be material planning considerations when determining applications covered by the proposed National Policy Statement for Renewable Energy Infrastructure.

Draft updated National Policy Statements were published for consultation and laid before Parliament earlier this year. There are no proposed changes in regard to value for money assessments. Development proposals enter the planning system at different times (at the discretion of developers), and require decisions on development consent orders to be made within statutory timeframes accordingly. The planning system does not compare projects; each decision is based on the merits of each proposal.