Speeches by Pennycook.

“We use the OBR forecasts. They are the main public estimate of net additions. They inform the Department’s work. You will have qualitative data of what is actually feeding through as we progress through the Parliament in terms of the statistics that are released. As I say, there are some green shoots emerging from that…”

“I absolutely understand that, but, I suppose, point your attention to other long-term targets that the Government have set. Clean power by 2030 is a good example. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is not setting interim annual targets for clean power 2030. It is not saying, “We are at 80% clean power by t…”

“I am not going to give you rough interim annual targets or precise interim annual targets. We are not setting interim annual targets. It is a whole-of-Parliament standard. On the statistics, the point that is worth emphasising is that the Government inherited a housing market downturn, exacerbated by the conscious and …”

“That is data.”

“No, Chair. Sorry if I am raking over old ground. We have not set an interim annual target of 300,000 homes per year. I do not think that this is complex to understand. The 1.5 million new homes target is a whole-of-Parliament target. We know that, because of the dire inheritance that we picked up, planning applications…”

“I am Matthew Pennycook. I am the Minister for Housing and Planning.”

“Thank you, Chair, for the invitation to give evidence this morning and for that opening question. It is the case that the path to meeting our hugely ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament is clearer than it was the last time I gave evidence to you in late November last year. As…”

“Under our proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill for a national scheme of delegation, it will still be local planning authorities that make recommendations and decisions. As the hon. Gentleman will know if he looks at the consultation, all we propose is a two-tier system in which a set of minor applications …”

“I will happily meet my hon. Friend about that concerning development. If she could write to me with the details in advance, that would be extremely useful.”

“I say two things to the hon. Gentleman. He will forgive me if he knows this already, but we did strengthen the provision for infrastructure in our recent changes to the national planning policy framework. Beyond that, we want to strengthen the existing system for developer contributions—where infrastructure and afforda…”

“The hon. Gentleman—who I have great affection for, as we go through our tenure—is a highly experienced former councillor, and he will know that local authorities already have article 4 powers. If he has evidence that those powers are not proving effective, I would really like to have more information.”

“Although swift brick coverage is increasing, we want to drive up swift brick installation. As I made clear on Report of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, we are considering using a new sweep of national policies for decision making, to require swift bricks to be incorporated into new buildings unless there are comp…”

“The Government’s plan for change includes a hugely ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes in England in this Parliament. In the 12 months we have been in office, we have taken decisive steps to boost housing supply, including overhauling the national planning policy framework and introducing the Planning an…”

“I thank the shadow Minister for that question. He is absolutely right that our target of 1.5 million new homes, which is extremely stretching—we have never said anything other than that—does not entail units at any cost. The design and quality of new homes and new places are incredibly important. He rightly cites the n…”

“Those house builders have expressed their confidence, and their gratitude for the reforms that the Government have carried out. It is slightly peevish of the right hon. Lady, who stood for election on a manifesto that committed her party to 1.6 million homes, to say that our 1.5 million homes target is unachievable. We…”

“The Government strongly encourage broad community engagement in the planning process, and we want to see greater public participation in the development of local plans in particular. We are currently exploring new ways to increase and enhance community engagement in the planning process, including by improving access t…”

“The hon. Lady draws the attention of the House to an incredibly important point. The Government are clear that the house building sector can thrive only when there is fair and open competition. Where that is found not to be the case, it is right that the CMA acts decisively, as it has done in this instance by extractin…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. I have a vague memory of certain parliamentary questions asking much the same, and I refer her to those answers. We want to ensure that all people have accessible homes. We are considering the M4(2) standard, and we will make announcements in due course about the accessibi…”

“We do want local communities to have more of a say, particularly when it comes to the development of local plans, which are, as I have said, the best means for local communities to shape development in their areas. When it comes to the national scheme of delegation, which is the point the hon. Gentleman is really drivi…”

“I note my hon. Friend’s concerns in relation to the Tees Valley. In general, we are looking to streamline the powers given to development corporations—we took measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to allow them, for example, to shape transport in areas—but if he wants to write to me or Ministers to raise mor…”