Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to the proposed Chinese Embassy development at the Royal Mint in London, whether they have contacted the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to obtain (1) the security statement, and (2) the blast assessment, which were not placed before the planning inquiry.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government does not comment on live planning cases.
Where potentially relevant additional information is drawn to the Department’s attention during the decision-making process, it is routine for its potential relevance to be assessed, including consideration of whether it is necessary to obtain that information or refer back to parties.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the quality of pre-application advice, and what steps they are taking to ensure the quality of pre-application advice.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government strongly encourages local planning authorities to utilise best practice guidance for pre-application engagement and Planning Performance Agreements published by the Planning Advisory Service. This is available here. Most local planning authorities will offer some form of pre-application advice service, but we have no plans to make this a mandatory function.
Asked by: Lord Mackinlay of Richborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make pre-application advice a compulsory service offered by local planning authorities.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government strongly encourages local planning authorities to utilise best practice guidance for pre-application engagement and Planning Performance Agreements published by the Planning Advisory Service. This is available here. Most local planning authorities will offer some form of pre-application advice service, but we have no plans to make this a mandatory function.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of solar power infrastructure in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar is at the heart of the Government’s clean energy mission, and we are taking steps to support rapid deployment.
In green-belt areas like Surrey Heath, solar infrastructure is more likely to be found on rooftops than in fields. Permitted development rights mean that the vast majority of rooftop projects no longer require an application for planning permission. New building standards will ensure that most new houses will be built with solar panels. We recently conducted a call for evidence about solar canopies in car parks. £13.2bn has been allocated to the Warm Homes Plan, to help people with the upfront costs of energy efficiency improvements, such as rooftop solar.
Asked by: Baroness Maclean of Redditch (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the planning system in (1) London, and (2) England and Wales, to make it easier for small housebuilders to obtain planning permission.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
On 28 May 2025, the government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds (which can be found on gov.uk here) which seeks views on taking a gradated approach to the system as a whole – removing and streamlining disproportionate requirements on small and medium sites, while maintaining and strengthening requirements on major development. We are currently considering the responses received to the working paper.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, also strengthened the wording around small site allocation for SME housebuilders and includes measures designed to promote mixed tenure development.
Housing is a devolved matter and it is for the Welsh Government to decide what reforms to bring forward in Wales.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the cost to local authorities of developers successfully contesting (a) section 106 agreements and (b) a Community Infrastructure Levy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Planning Inspectorate publish quarterly data on planning appeals, including data on appeals received, decided, and allowed. This can be found on gov.uk here at table 2.8.
The government has not undertaken a centralised assessment of costs to local planning authorities.
It is right and fair that developers are able to access appropriate appeals processes. A person who considers a Community Infrastructure Levy charge to have been incorrectly calculated can seek a formal review of the calculation by the levy charging authority and may also seek an independent assessment of the calculation through an appeal to the Valuation Office Agency if deemed necessary following review by the authority.
Applicants do not have to agree to a proposed planning obligation (section 106 agreement). However, this may lead to a refusal of planning permission or non-determination of the application. An appeal may be made against the non-determination or refusal of planning permission. In certain circumstances, an appeal may also be made to the Planning Inspectorate against a refusal to change a planning obligation.
The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to (a) allow fast-track approval routes, (b) introduce parliamentary sign-off and (c) implement other reforms to the judicial review process to help ensure nationally significant road projects do not have prolonged legal delays.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is committed to ensuring that nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), including major road schemes, are delivered efficiently and without unnecessary delay.
The Department is actively exploring options to streamline the Development Consent Order (DCO) process, and the Planning and Infrastructure Bill (PIB) includes provisions to remove mandatory pre-application consultations and revise acceptance tests to accelerate decision-making and reduce potential bottlenecks.
We are also legislating to tighten the judicial review process. Key reforms include removing the paper permission stage; limiting appeals for cases deemed “Totally Without Merit” at oral hearings; exploring target timescales for judicial reviews in collaboration with the judiciary. These reforms aim to prevent meritless claims from delaying critical infrastructure while ensuring legitimate challenges are heard promptly.
In parallel, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has also launched a public consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning. Proposals being consulted on include reforms to pre-application services, enhanced guidance for statutory bodies, and improvements to the fast-track process administered by the Planning Inspectorate.
Asked by: Peter Fortune (Conservative - Bromley and Biggin Hill)
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 take steps to protect family homes from being converted into houses in multiple occupation.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a C4 House in Multiple Occupation for up to six people sharing facilities without the need for a planning application.
Larger Houses in Multiple Occupation require a planning application which the local authority will determine in-line with the local plan and in consultation with neighbours.
Local authorities can remove the permitted development right for HMOs of up to 6 people to protect local amenity or wellbeing of the area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is sufficient planning human resource capacity to enable the timely sign-off of pre-start conditions for affordable housing developments.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 67508 on 21 July 2025.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of planning permissions granted since July 2024 that have led to house building starts.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not collect data on the time taken between the granting of planning permission for a residential development and the start of housebuilding within the development.
The information that the Department routinely collects on house building starts does not include the date on which planning permission for the development was granted.