Asked by: Emma Foody (Labour (Co-op) - Cramlington and Killingworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many holding objections have been issued by National Highways in (a) England and (b) the North East of England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The below table sets out holding responses issued by National Highways in England, and the Yorkshire and North East (YNE) operational region (the smallest for which data is available) in each of the last five financial years.
Year | Number of holding responses issued in England | Number of holding responses issued in YNE |
2024/25 | 2,117 | 401 |
2023/24 | 1,664 | 311 |
2022/23 | 1,049 | 157 |
2021/22 | 927 | 160 |
2020/21 | 849 | 127 |
The increase between pre and post March 2023 is a result of the change in how NH records and monitors its data.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the number of new trees required as part of planning permissions which are (a) never planted and (b) not maintained for the required period of time.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that appropriate measures are in place to secure the long-term maintenance of newly-planted trees.
The National Design Guide, which supports the Framework, adds that management and maintenance regimes should be considered from the early stages of the design process and documented in a management plan.
A Local Planning Authority can attach conditions to the grant of planning permission. These could be used to secure the implementation and protection of trees within a development. If a development has been carried out without complying with any associated planning conditions, local planning authorities have a range of planning enforcement powers which they can use to tackle alleged breaches of planning control.
Planning authorities can also use planning obligations to restrict or prescribe the use of land, require specific activities to be carried out in relation to a development, and require payment to a local authority. Planning obligations could include requiring a developer to make payments towards the management and maintenance of trees.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 potential merits of mandating a minimum aftercare period for trees planted as a condition of planning permissions for new homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that planning policies and decisions should ensure that appropriate measures are in place to secure the long-term maintenance of newly-planted trees.
The National Design Guide, which supports the Framework, adds that management and maintenance regimes should be considered from the early stages of the design process and documented in a management plan.
A Local Planning Authority can attach conditions to the grant of planning permission. These could be used to secure the implementation and protection of trees within a development. If a development has been carried out without complying with any associated planning conditions, local planning authorities have a range of planning enforcement powers which they can use to tackle alleged breaches of planning control.
Planning authorities can also use planning obligations to restrict or prescribe the use of land, require specific activities to be carried out in relation to a development, and require payment to a local authority. Planning obligations could include requiring a developer to make payments towards the management and maintenance of trees.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has considered reforming the Habitat Regulations in as far as they relate to planning.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is nearing its final stages in Parliament. The Bill establishes a strategic alternative to the Habitats Regulations Assessment in certain circumstances, although the Regulations remain in place. These provisions will accelerate housing and infrastructure development while supporting the recovery of protected sites and species.
The Government is working to improve the functioning of the Habitats Regulations,
including acting on the recommendations of the Corry Review and the recent Post-Implementation Review. We will also publish updated guidance on the Habitats Regulations Assessment process.
We want to ensure that the Habitats Regulations deliver certainty and efficiency for developers, while protecting our most valuable habitats and species.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 27 October (HL Deb col 1192), whether the aim to "sort out Hillside" referred to the consequences of the decision of the Supreme Court in Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30 or the planning status of the hillside location in Aberdyfi; and when they expect the Hillside issue to be resolved.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My remarks to the House set out the Government’s proposed approach to handling the broader implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the use of drop in permissions for the development sector in England, not the specific case in Wales subject to the judgement.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the resilience of mobile networks in rural areas; and whether her Department plans to review (a) planning and (b) infrastructure requirements to prevent prolonged outages.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Senior officials within the department have been in regular contact with Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) about the coverage issue in Calder Valley constituency that impacted both O2 and Vodafone customers, along with customers of Mobile Virtual Network Operators using their networks. VMO2 have confirmed that a temporary fix has been put in place to restore mobile connectivity to the Hebden Bridge community. This was implemented on 7 November. VMO2 have told us the solution put in place will ensure that the coverage in Hebden Bridge is equivalent to the level of coverage experienced prior to the outage.
While we will be launching a call for evidence as soon as possible to assess the merits of further planning reform to support the deployment of mobile networks, VMO2 has indicated that obtaining planning permission was not a barrier to restoring coverage in the area.
Communications providers are legally required to ensure appropriate network availability, mitigate risks, and report significant incidents to Ofcom, which can investigate and enforce compliance. In December 2023, Ofcom launched a Call for Input on power back-up at mobile access sites. An update in February 2025 confirmed further analysis is underway to determine proportionate measures for operators. The Department supports this work and looks forward to its conclusions.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with mobile network operators on the timetable for restoring mobile coverage in Calder Valley constituency; and what steps she is taking to help expedite that process.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Senior officials within the department have been in regular contact with Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) about the coverage issue in Calder Valley constituency that impacted both O2 and Vodafone customers, along with customers of Mobile Virtual Network Operators using their networks. VMO2 have confirmed that a temporary fix has been put in place to restore mobile connectivity to the Hebden Bridge community. This was implemented on 7 November. VMO2 have told us the solution put in place will ensure that the coverage in Hebden Bridge is equivalent to the level of coverage experienced prior to the outage.
While we will be launching a call for evidence as soon as possible to assess the merits of further planning reform to support the deployment of mobile networks, VMO2 has indicated that obtaining planning permission was not a barrier to restoring coverage in the area.
Communications providers are legally required to ensure appropriate network availability, mitigate risks, and report significant incidents to Ofcom, which can investigate and enforce compliance. In December 2023, Ofcom launched a Call for Input on power back-up at mobile access sites. An update in February 2025 confirmed further analysis is underway to determine proportionate measures for operators. The Department supports this work and looks forward to its conclusions.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much solar power generating capacity is (a) operational, (b) under construction and (c) awaiting a planning decision.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As of the end of September 2025, there is 20.0GW of solar generating capacity in the UK. Deployment statistics are published monthly, here: Solar photovoltaics deployment - GOV.UK.
According to the July edition of the Renewable Energy Planning Database, there is 2.4GW of solar capacity under construction and 12.0GW of solar awaiting the result of either an application for planning permission or a planning appeal. These figures exclude installations smaller than 150kW. The REPD is available here: Renewable Energy Planning Database: quarterly extract - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the potential impact of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) on (i) community cohesion and (ii) levels of anti-social behaviour, (b) the concentration of HMOs in specific areas and (c) whether additional planning powers should be made available to local authorities to manage those impacts.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) on (i) community cohesion and (ii) levels of anti-social behaviour.
Local planning authorities already have planning powers to limit the concentration or proliferation of HMOs within their locality. They can remove the national permitted development right for smaller HMOs to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction which, once in place, requires all new HMO proposals to secure planning permission.
We keep the powers to regulate HMOs under review.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on compliance with ecological mitigation and enhancement conditions attached to planning permissions; and if he will publish post-occupancy monitoring data on the implementation of (a) bird boxes, (b) hedgehog highways, (c) tree planting and (d) other biodiversity features.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Monitoring and ensuring compliance with ecological conditions attached to planning permissions are matters for local planning authorities who already have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance, to use as they consider appropriate.
For a summary of the steps the government is taking to support capacity and capability within local planning authorities, including within their enforcement teams, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 67508 on 14 July 2025.
In respect of post-occupancy monitoring, my Department does not collect the data requested.
Officials in my Department have engaged with Natural England and local planning authorities about the monitoring of biodiversity enhancements, particularly in relation to the implementation of biodiversity net gain.