Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the forthcoming national land use frameworks will balance the competing demands for agriculture, development, energy, and infrastructure in a way that actively promotes the installation of solar panels on suitable brownfield land and rooftops.

The Government considers that there is a strong need for increased solar deployment. As set out in the Energy Security Plan in March 2023, deploying rooftop solar remains a key priority for the Government. To meet our objectives for energy security and climate change, we will also need to make significant use of ground-mounted solar development mainly on brownfield, industrial and low and medium grade agricultural land. The Government encourages deployment of solar technology that delivers environmental co-benefits, with consideration for ongoing food production.

Meeting energy security and climate change goals is urgent and of critical importance to the country, and these goals can be achieved together with maintaining food security for the UK. We recognise that, as with any new development, solar projects may impact on communities and the environment. The planning system allows all views to be taken into account when decision makers balance local impacts with national need.

Striking the right balance between different land uses is a challenging task, which will involve trade-offs. There are many uses of our land that we need to anticipate for the future: growing food, planting trees, building homes, natural habitats, energy, land for infrastructure, and leisure and recreation. The Land Use Framework for England, to be published this year, will help to inform how we manage trade-offs and maximise co-benefits on the land, thereby supporting the delivery of multifunctional landscapes that will be dependent on the local context and national needs.