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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of developers reducing affordable housing delivery on local housing need in West Dorset.

The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure.

Alongside measures to deal with the legacy problem of existing uncontracted S106 units, we intend to take steps to create a simpler, more transparent, and more resilient S106 system.

As set out in the package of support for housebuilding in London announced by the Secretary of State and the Mayor of London on 23 October, which can be found on gov.uk here, the government intends to clarify the use of Section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 so that an application under this section to vary a condition of a planning permission should no longer be used as an alternative means of reconsidering fundamental questions of scheme viability or planning obligations.

We are also reviewing the planning practice guidance PPG on viability. Further details will be set out in due course.