Written questions by Badenoch.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech of 8 July 2024 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what her planned timetable is to start consulting on bringing onshore wind into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime.

We are consulting on bringing larger onshore wind development back into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime as part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework launched today.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to establish a separate Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 1012 on 30 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what her Department’s planning definition is of the grey belt; and whether the grey belt includes (a) greenfield land and (b) residential gardens within the green belt.

The Government has set out changes to how we plan for the homes we need and in relation to grey belt and the Green Belt as part of the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework launched today.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8 July 2024, whether the Government's house building target will include houses that began construction in the previous Parliament.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 586 on 22 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8 July 2024, for which other sectors spatial plans will be developed.

Preparations are being made to develop the energy spatial plan and announcements on expanding this spatial plan to other infrastructure sectors will be made in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech of 8 July 2024 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what methodology she plans to use to prioritise energy projects.

As the Chancellor set out on 8 July, the Government will give priority to energy projects in the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects regime to ensure that they make swift progress. This is one of a number of changes the Government intends to make to build the infrastructure that we need. We will set out more details in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of regulatory changes resulting from the UK's departure from the EU on her Department's ability to meet its housing targets.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 586 on 22 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, how many houses will be constructed as part of the Affordable Housing Programme 2021 - 2026.

The 2021-2026 Affordable Homes Programme was intended to deliver up to 180,000 affordable homes. The Government will publish an estimate of what it is likely to deliver in the near future.

Communities and Local Government, how many existing planning permissions there are where building has not yet started.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to details on existing planning permissions and planning application statistics, which can be found at the following link.Please note that i) time lags in building can affect the number of homes built in a particular period; and ii) the methodology used in the source above cannot guarantee that all double counting of permissions is removed.

Communities and Local Government, whether houses that were given planning permission under the previous Government but not yet built are included in her 1.5 million housebuilding target for this Parliament.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 586 on 22 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate she has made of the number of houses that will be built in 2024.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 586 on 22 July 2024.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to speed up cladding remediation programmes.

The pace of remediation through Government funded schemes is not fast enough and we are committed to ensuring pace increases. We will continuously monitor the system, identify opportunities to increase speed, and intensify efforts to bring all remaining buildings into remediation schemes. We will address barriers within the system, including enforcing actions against uncooperative parties. We will empower regulators and local authorities to act, continue taking direct Government action, and consider new legislation as necessary.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power, published on 16 July 2024, how she plans to assess the impact of the new partnership approach and scaling up devolution on unlocking economic growth and tackling regional inequality.

The Government’s ambition is for a new, stronger partnership between central and local Government, recognising that different parts of the country have different strengths, and it is local representatives that know their communities best.We will work in partnership with communities, Mayors and local authorities to ensure that local areas have the tools they need to deliver local growth. Devolution is central to this mission, but only around half of the people in England currently benefit from these arrangements, and so we have asked more areas to come forward with devolution proposals. We are also establishing a Council of Nations and Regions with First Ministers and Mayors of Combined Authorities in England, and will introduce Local Growth Plans for places to develop.We will work with local areas to understand what works, and explore opportunities to improve alignment with the new Government’s growth agenda, including through the devolution of further powers and function through a landmark English Devolution Bill which will seek to set a presumption of devolution by default.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power, published on 16 July 2024, how her Department defines local growth plans.

The Government has set out its intention to work with places to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans. Local Growth Plans will be delivered through partnership, and the department will write to places shortly to provide further detail on the approach to developing these Plans.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release entitled Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power, published on 16 July 2024, how she plans that the new partnership approach and scaling up of devolution will unlock economic growth and tackle regional inequality.

The Government’s ambition is for a new, stronger partnership between central and local Government, recognising that different parts of the country have different strengths, and it is local representatives that know their communities best.We will work in partnership with communities, Mayors and local authorities to ensure that local areas have the tools they need to deliver local growth. Devolution is central to this mission, but only around half of the people in England currently benefit from these arrangements, and so we have asked more areas to come forward with devolution proposals. We are also establishing a Council of Nations and Regions with First Ministers and Mayors of Combined Authorities in England, and will introduce Local Growth Plans for places to develop.We will work with local areas to understand what works, and explore opportunities to improve alignment with the new Government’s growth agenda, including through the devolution of further powers and function through a landmark English Devolution Bill which will seek to set a presumption of devolution by default.

Communities and Local Government, what methodology her Department will use to set mandatory housing targets.

The Government will set out proposed changes to national planning policy, including the current standard method for assessing local housing need, in the forthcoming National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) update.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power, published on 16 July 2024, whether local growth plans will be put on a statutory footing.

The Government has set out its intention to work with places to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans. Local Growth Plans will be delivered through partnership, and the department will write to places shortly to provide further detail on the approach to developing these Plans.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the funding required to meet levels of demand for affordable housing.

We are reviewing the Affordable Homes Programme inherited from the last Government, and will make further announcements in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to reform nutrient neutrality rules to meet her Department’s housing targets.

The Government is committed to finding a solution that unlocks the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections.We will work with nature organisations, other stakeholders, and the sector to determine the best way forward and have already had initial conversations to that end.We will only act in legislation where we can confirm to Parliament that the steps we are taking will deliver positive environmental outcomes.If legislation is required for the purposes of enabling development to fund nature recovery where currently both are stalled, the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will provide the necessary legislative underpinning to unlock that win-win outcome for the economy and for nature.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to take steps to consult local residents on the (a) location, (b) design, (c) infrastructure and amenities available for proposed new towns.

The Government has committed to delivering the next generation of new towns in partnership with local leaders and communities. We will take steps to ensure they contain high-quality, well-designed, and sustainable homes and the necessary infrastructure, amenities and services to thrive.Further details on the next generation of new towns will be provided in due course.