Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the planning system in the delivery of mobile telecommunications infrastructure in National Parks; and how he reached that assessment.

On 10 July, the Government’s Productivity Plan set out its ambitions for mobile connectivity in England and launched the Call for Evidence. We sought views from communities, mobile network operators, local authorities and others on the ability of the planning system to deliver and support mobile connectivity in all areas of England, including technical and operational factors, which may be limiting deployment.

We are considering the evidence submitted and will announce the outcome of the planning review in due course.