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 publish an assessment of the cumulative impact on the protection of Green Belt land of reducing the number of planning applications requiring advice from statutory consultees such as National Highways and Active Travel England; and what steps he will take to ensure that streamlining does not reduce the scrutiny of infrastructure, transport, or environmental pressures in constituencies such as Aldridge-Brownhills.

On 17 November 2025, my Department published a consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system. That consultation closes on 13 January 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.

A consultation will also be carried out in due course seeking views on plans to amend and expand the 2024 Consultation Direction currently in force.