Written questions by Badenoch.

Communities and Local Government, what proportion of her time she plans to allocate to her responsibilities relating to (a) housing, (b) communities, (c) local government, (d) deputy Prime Minister, (e) the future of work and (f) government coordination.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State, alongside the Department's ministerial team and colleagues across Government, are working full time to deliver the housing our country needs, renew our local communities and public services, and deliver the New Deal for Working People among other ministerial responsibilities.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled Chancellor Rachel Reeves is taking immediate action to fix the foundations of our economy, published on 8 July 2024, if she will list the items of red tape referred to.

Sustained economic growth is the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people. To achieve it, we need to get Britain building again.We know the planning system currently acts as a major brake on economic growth and we were clear in our manifesto that we need to change national planning policy to lift it.The Chancellor’s speech sent a strong signal about the principles that will guide our fresh approach and we will make further announcements in due course.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled Chancellor Rachel Reeves is taking immediate action to fix the foundations of our economy, published on 8 July 2024, what estimate she has made of how many houses need to be built in (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25, (c) 2025-26, (d) 2026-27 and (e) 2027-28 to meet the target of 1.5 million homes in the next five years.

In our manifesto we committed to building 1.5 million homes over the duration of the parliament. We will update Parliament on our progress in the usual manner.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled Chancellor Rachel Reeves is taking immediate action to fix the foundations of our economy, published on 8 July 2024, what methodology she plans to use to confirm that the target of 1.5 million homes over the next five years has been met.

In our manifesto we committed to building 1.5 million homes over the duration of the parliament. We will update Parliament on our progress in the usual manner.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the speech entitled Chancellor Rachel Reeves is taking immediate action to fix the foundations of our economy, published on 8 July 2024, if she will list the vested interests referenced in the planning sytem.

Sustained economic growth is the only route to improving the prosperity of our country and the living standards of working people. To achieve it, we need to get Britain building again.We know the planning system currently acts as a major brake on economic growth and we were clear in our manifesto that we need to change national planning policy to lift it.The Chancellor’s speech sent a strong signal about the principles that will guide our fresh approach and we will make further announcements in due course.

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, when she expects the first devolution deals to be signed by her Department.

The Deputy Prime Minister has written to local leaders in those areas of England which are not yet covered by devolution, encouraging them to come forward with proposals by the end of September. Preparations for devolution settlements will be led by local areas themselves and the department is keen to grow devolution coverage across England.We have set out our intention to expand the devolution of powers in areas such as housing planning, transport, skills and employment support, building on the existing devolution framework.As part of our drive to hand more power to places and communities so they can better deliver growth in their local areas, the Government will also publish a new devolution framework in due course, setting out the new powers and flexibilities available to local areas.

Communities and Local Government, how the grey belt will be designated; and whether she plans Ministerial involvement in such designation.

The Government is committed to preserving the greenbelt which has served England’s towns and cities well over many decades.We intend to move away from a system that allows greenbelt land to regularly be released for development in a haphazard manner and often for speculative development that does not meet housing need.Without changing its purpose or general extent, Labour will take a more strategic approach to greenbelt land designation and release to build more homes in the right places.The release of lower quality grey belt land will be prioritised, and we will introduce ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature.Further details on how grey belt land will be designated and the methods by which it might be released will be provided in due course.

Communities and Local Government, what plans her Department plans to take to ensure local residents are consulted on any proposed construction on designated grey belt land.

The Government is committed to preserving the greenbelt which has served England’s towns and cities well over many decades.We intend to move away from a system that allows greenbelt land to regularly be released for development in a haphazard manner and often for speculative development that does not meet housing need.Without changing its purpose or general extent, Labour will take a more strategic approach to greenbelt land designation and release to build more homes in the right places.The release of lower quality grey belt land will be prioritised, and we will introduce ‘golden rules’ to ensure development benefits communities and nature.Further details on how grey belt land will be designated and the methods by which it might be released will be provided in due course.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will set affordable housing targets.

The Government will reverse the damaging changes to national planning policy introduced in December 2023 and consult on other changes to the National Planning Policy Framework to boost the supply of housing of all tenures, including affordable homes, and support sustainable economic growth. Further details will be provided in due course.

Communities and Local Government, how many new towns the Government plans on building.

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.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's press release of 16 July 2024 entitled Deputy Prime Minister kickstarts new devolution revolution to boost local power, what (a) powers and (b) responsibilities she plans to allocate to Mayoral and Combined Authorities.

The Deputy Prime Minister has written to local leaders in those areas of England which are not yet covered by devolution, encouraging them to come forward with proposals by the end of September. Preparations for devolution settlements will be led by local areas themselves and the department is keen to grow devolution coverage across England.We have set out our intention to expand the devolution of powers in areas such as housing planning, transport, skills and employment support, building on the existing devolution framework.As part of our drive to hand more power to places and communities so they can better deliver growth in their local areas, the Government will also publish a new devolution framework in due course, setting out the new powers and flexibilities available to local areas.

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, whether there will be penalties for areas that do not sign local growth plans.

The Government has set out its intention to work with Combined Authorities to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans, setting out how local leaders will put their powers to use to deliver growth in every corner of the country.Local Growth Plans will be delivered through partnership, and my department will provide further detail on the approach to developing these Plans to local leaders in due course.Ministers have already spoken with metro Mayors about the possibilities of local growth plans and the benefits they can provide for residents and businesses alike.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of net immigration on housing supply.

Immigration is one of a number of factors that impacts on housing demand and future housing supply. We will continue to monitor both and update Parliament on our commitment to build 1.5m homes over five years.

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, what her expected timetable is for signing off the first local growth plan.

The Government has set out its intention to work with Combined Authorities to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans, setting out how local leaders will put their powers to use to deliver growth in every corner of the country.Local Growth Plans will be delivered through partnership, and my department will provide further detail on the approach to developing these Plans to local leaders in due course.Ministers have already spoken with metro Mayors about the possibilities of local growth plans and the benefits they can provide for residents and businesses alike.

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 local growth plans; and over what timeframe such assessments will be made.

The Government has set out its intention to work with Combined Authorities to develop ambitious, long-term Local Growth Plans, setting out how local leaders will put their powers to use to deliver growth in every corner of the country.Local Growth Plans will be delivered through partnership, and my department will provide further detail on the approach to developing these Plans to local leaders in due course.Ministers have already spoken with metro Mayors about the possibilities of local growth plans and the benefits they can provide for residents and businesses alike.