Written questions by Stephenson.

Communities and Local Government, if she has made an assessment of the potential impact of Part O of Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations on her plans to develop beautiful communities.

The intention of Part O is to reduce the risk of overheating in new residential buildings. Overheating in buildings has been highlighted as a key risk for the health and productivity of people and businesses in the UK, and we must ensure that new homes do not increase that risk.The Building Regulations are outcome based and not prescriptive, and two different Part O compliance routes have been put in place to enable design flexibility and allow for innovative, beautiful and compliant designs.As part of the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation, which closed in March 2024, we sought evidence on whether current overheating standards are appropriate or require amendment. The Government will set out the evidence it received on Part O during this consultation and its response to this in Autumn 2025, when the Future Homes and Buildings Standard consultation response will be published.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to provide additional funding for infrastructure for local authorities for which new towns are planned.

The government established an independent New Towns Taskforce last year to develop recommendations on suitable locations for new towns to create new thriving communities, and act as a catalyst for economic growth. The Taskforce will deliver a final shortlist of recommendations to ministers this summer, including how to deliver and fund new towns. We are learning lessons from the past to ensure that our next generation of new towns are well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of houses in new towns will be sold at market prices.

The government established an independent New Towns Taskforce last year to develop recommendations on suitable locations for new towns to create new thriving communities, and act as a catalyst for economic growth. The Taskforce will deliver a final shortlist of recommendations to ministers this summer, including how to deliver and fund new towns. We are learning lessons from the past to ensure that our next generation of new towns are well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department has to consider the lessons learned from the development of previous new towns in its planning for new towns.

The government established an independent New Towns Taskforce last year to develop recommendations on suitable locations for new towns to create new thriving communities, and act as a catalyst for economic growth. The Taskforce will deliver a final shortlist of recommendations to ministers this summer, including how to deliver and fund new towns. We are learning lessons from the past to ensure that our next generation of new towns are well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live and have all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's plans for English Devolution on levels of housebuilding.

As set out in the English Devolution White Paper, Strategic Authorities will play a central role in the government's long term strategy for delivering housebuilding across England. All Strategic Authorities will be empowered to develop Spatial Development Strategies. These strategies, which identify strategic growth locations and the infrastructure needed to facilitate housing growth, will align housing with infrastructure, prioritise social and affordable housing. We will also grant Mayors powers to intervene in strategic planning applications to support large-scale housing developments, and to raise a Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy to fund the infrastructure required to unlock housing. Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will receive funding for local priorities through the integrated settlement, and be held to account for local delivery through an outcomes framework.

Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport supporting the delivery of transport infrastructure through the planning system.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed. My Department continues to work closely with the Department for Transport on matters relating to transport infrastructure and planning, as appropriate.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that New Towns deliver beautiful (a) housing and (b) public realm.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 6 of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim update Building new towns for the future, published in February 2025, what steps the New Towns Taskforce s taking to assess local support for new towns prior to making their recommendation on potential locations.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 3 of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim update Building new towns for the future, published in February 2025, whether sites will be considered which were not submitted as part of the Call for Evidence.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment on the potential implications for her policies on New Towns of the decision to end Chartered Town Planning Level 7 apprenticeship funding.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 7 of the New Towns Taskforce’s interim update Building new towns for the future, published in February 2025, what models other than local authority maintenance of assets are being considered.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 36088 on 14 March 2025.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to page 10 of the impact assessment for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, published on 6 May 2025, how her Department calculated the £1.1 billion value for planning fees reforms.

I refer the hon. Member to Annex 11 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill Impact Assessment which can be found on gov.uk here.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking with the Mayor of London to increase the level of construction of affordable housing in London.

On taking office in July 2024, the government acted quickly to agree changes to the Affordable Homes Programme to strengthen the delivery of affordable homes in London, including providing the GLA with flexibilities on completion deadlines and allowing the GLA to fund some intermediate rent homes.At the Spending Review the Chancellor announced £39 billion for a successor to the Affordable Homes Programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36; a 10-year rent settlement; an intention to implement a rent convergence mechanism; and £2.5bn in low interest loans to support new development (alongside commercial lending).These measures cover the main elements of our social and affordable housing investment strategy in this Parliament. Alongside other aspects of our reform programme, including forthcoming details on future quality and safety regulation, they will give Registered Providers, including those operating in London, the clarity and certainty they need to quickly ramp up investment in existing and new stock.

Communities and Local Government, whether the New Towns Taskforce has consulted with specialist (a) arboriculturalists and (b) ecologists on the potential impact of the proposed new town locations on biodiversity.

The New Towns Programme aims to create environmentally resilient places that support the government’s net-zero agenda through sustainable design, nature enhancement, low-carbon infrastructure, and responsible development, including flood risk mitigation. In developing proposals for new towns, the Taskforce will work with local leaders and communities to consider the different impact of new towns, including any environmental impacts.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to map grey belt land.

It is for individual local planning authorities to assess if land is grey belt and to determine whether and how to amend Green Belt boundaries through the preparation or updating of plans. On 27 February 2025, Planning Practice Guidance was published to assist local authorities and other decision-makers, and to support a consistent approach to determining whether land is grey belt. It can be found on gov.uk here. This new guidance will support authorities in producing Local Plans, while also making sure that planning applications and development on suitable grey belt land can proceed in the short-term in areas without an up-to-date plan. The government has also provided 133 local planning authorities with £70,000 of pump priming funding each to contribute towards the costs of carrying out Green Belt reviews in their areas. Any alteration to a Green Belt boundary is reported to the Department and the details published on gov.uk in our annual Green Belt statistical release. In addition, the Department publishes statistics on land use change, including estimates of new residential addresses created in Green Belt and other categories of land.

Communities and Local Government, whether the New Towns Taskforce has consulted with specialist flooding experts on the potential impact of the proposed new town locations on flooding.

The New Towns Programme aims to create environmentally resilient places that support the government’s net-zero agenda through sustainable design, nature enhancement, low-carbon infrastructure, and responsible development, including flood risk mitigation. In developing proposals for new towns, the Taskforce will work with local leaders and communities to consider the different impact of new towns, including any environmental impacts.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of planners employed by (a) local authorities and (b) developers who have a Level 7 apprenticeship qualification.

The Department does not currently hold detailed data on the number of planners employed by local authorities or developers who possess a Level 7 Chartered Town Planner Apprenticeship qualification.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an estimate of the number of Level 7 apprenticeships offered by local authorities.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 58023 on 13 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to strengthen protections for peatland from development in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.

Safeguarding peatland plays an important role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as maintaining and enhancing biodiversity. The National Planning Policy Framework contains a very high level of protection against proposals which might affect peatlands. The Framework is clear that development plans should not identify proposals for new or extended sites for peat extraction, and that planning permission should not be granted for peat extraction from new or extended sites.In relation to other forms of development that could affect peatland, the Framework sets out that development resulting in the loss or deterioration of irreplaceable habitats, including habitats with peat soils such as blanket bog and lowland fen, should be refused, unless there are wholly exceptional reasons and a suitable compensation strategy exists.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government during the Twelfth sitting of the Public Bill Committee on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on Tuesday 20 May 2025, Official Report, column 558, what her Department's planned timeline is for consideration of measures to improve the take up of SuDS.

The government is committed to requiring sustainable drainage systems in new development and we have already taken action to support that objective by setting out updated policy in the revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024. We are looking carefully at what additional steps might be taken to further improve the implementation of SuDS. A final decision will be made in the coming months.