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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact changes to planning regulations will have on the number of affordable homes.

To aid small and medium-sized (SME) builders through economic recovery, we have consulted on a proposal to increase the current threshold at which affordable housing contributions can be collected on new developments. Details of the impact of this proposal are set out in the Changes to the current planning system consultation, which closed on 1 October. It is important that we analyse the consultation feedback thoroughly. We will respond to the consultation in due course.

We are proposing this as a short-term measure before introducing radical reform through the Planning for the future white paper, in which we are proposing a new nationally-set ‘Infrastructure Levy’ that delivers at least as much on-site affordable housing as at present. The Planning for the future consultation closes on 29 October.