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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating the National Planning Policy Framework to include guidance on the importance of telecommunications infrastructure in new developments.

The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that advanced, high quality and reliable communications infrastructure is essential for economic growth and social well-being. It sets out that planning policies and decisions should support the expansion of electronic communications networks, including next generation mobile technology.

The government intend to consult this year on a new suite of national policies for decision making and we will consider policies on telecommunications as part of that exercise.