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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that parish meetings are (a) included and (b) consulted in the Planning Inspectorate’s decision-making process; and whether she plans to undertake a review of consultation practices.

Parish Councils are engaged already in the Planning Inspectorate’s decision-making processes.

In the case of planning appeals, any submissions that a Parish Council, being a statutory consultee, made in relation to an appealed planning application will be available for a Planning Inspector’s consideration. In addition, Parish Councils may make direct representations on planning appeals. Representatives of Parish Council appear regularly at public hearings and inquiries, where they are afforded time to speak in front of the Planning Inspector. They may also ask to have so-called “Rule 6” status, which entitles them to appear as a formal party to a public inquiry and to cross-examine witnesses.

In the case of Local Plans, Parish Councils can submit representations on drafts of plans. Their representatives can request to take part in round table sessions on issues of concern to them. It is very common for Parish Council representatives to take part in discussions, and to provide evidence, in this way. Parish Councils can, of course, produce Neighbourhood Plans, of which Planning Inspectors will take account when reaching decisions on planning appeals.

In the case of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, Parish Councils, as statutory consultees, are engaged in the process from the start. Representatives can also register to have their say at the pre-examination stage, setting out full details of the issues that they which the examining authority to consider. They may also register to “have their say” at the public examination before the examining authority.

The Planning Inspectorate has no immediate plans to review its practices.