Written questions by Aquarone.

Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for making a commencement order under section 108 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 to enact Schedule 30 of the Act.

I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS65) made today, 21 May 2026.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer to Question 107848 on 27 January 2026, if he will publish (a) the list of attendees and (b) the minutes of his meeting with Norfolk County Council on 16 December 2025.

The meeting was attended by representatives from Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils: Cllr Matthew Hicks, Nicola Beach, Andrew Cook, Cllr Kay Mason Billig and Tom McCabe. My Department has no plans to publish the minutes of the meeting.

Communities and Local Government, on what dates his Department had discussions with Norfolk County Council on the cancellation of 2026 elections; and and if he will publish the minutes from those meetings.

I met all leaders of Devolution Priority Programme Areas on 11 December, where many areas raised concerns about their capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside local elections. I also met Norfolk County Council on 16 December where the same concerns were raised. A summary of the decision was provided through the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 January and the letter sent to council leaders, both of which are publicly available.

Communities and Local Government, if he will publish documents relating to his decision to postpone Norfolk county council elections.

I met all leaders of Devolution Priority Programme Areas on 11 December, where many areas raised concerns about their capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside local elections. I also met Norfolk County Council on 16 December where the same concerns were raised. A summary of the decision was provided through the Written Ministerial Statement of 22 January and the letter sent to council leaders, both of which are publicly available.

Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking is to ensure that new homes are built to be flood resilient.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) makes clear that inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk (whether existing or in the future). Where development is necessary in such areas, the development should be made safe for its lifetime without increasing flood risk elsewhere. The government is consulting on changes to the NPPF, including a dedicated chapter on planning for flood risk and coastal change. The consultation is open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here. If it is found to be necessary to build homes in areas of flood risk, statutory guidance accompanying the Building Regulations promotes flood resilient building work in flood-prone areas, through Approved Document C which can be found on gov.uk here. This may include adequate sub-soil drainage; use of non-return valves and anti-flooding devices on sewers and drains; water resistant construction; and provision for inspection and clearance of sub-floor voids.

Communities and Local Government, when they will set out a timescale for their review of agricultural permitted development rights.

Under existing nationally set permitted development rights, farmers are already able to undertake specific development on their farms. Guidance on the rights in question is available on gov.uk here.The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of rural exception site policy in securing affordable rented housing in perpetuity for local people in rural and coastal towns.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 57293 on 16 June 2025.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of initiating a formal review of legislation that allows certified exemption of small caravan and motorhome sites from planning permission.

Under national permitted development rights, set out in Part 5, Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, land can be used as a caravan site in certain circumstances. The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 62866 on Neighbourhood Plans: Finance, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of this policy on levels of council tax.

Precept levels are decided by parish councils, considering the needs of their community. The government expects parish councils to consider carefully the burden they are placing on local taxpayers.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing funding for the development of neighbourhood plans on parish councils.

As part of the Spending Review we’ve looked at all the services and programmes the government supports to identify those that should now be in a position to support themselves without ongoing funding. After more than a decade of taxpayer support, we believe that support for neighbourhood planning groups should be possible without further government funding. Parish and Town Councils have access to their own resources which they can choose to use for neighbourhood planning if they wish. With the end to the national structure for support, planning consultants should be able to innovate and offer groups lower cost support more targeted at their particular ambitions and needs.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to help tackle the backlog in certificate of lawfulness appeals at the planning inspectorate.

The Planning Inspectorate's Strategic Plan commits to removing all casework backlogs and meeting all Ministerial targets by 2027. Casework including nationally significant infrastructure projects, local plan examinations, critical Secretary of State casework, appeals against refusal of planning permission and appeals against enforcement notices are currently being prioritised. In addition, the Inspectorate has designed and developed a new digital Appeals Service currently in Beta phase. This new service improves the process for submitting appeals, including reducing the number of invalid appeals submitted. In turn, this reduces the number of validation checks required and is speeding up the time taken to validate appeals. The new service has been expanded to cover all local planning authority areas. The Planning Inspectorate is an Arm's Length Government Body with responsibility for allocation of resources, prioritisation and overall operational performance. The Inspectorate publishes updates on its performance on its website regularly.

Communities and Local Government, when she plans to announce which local authorities have been selected for the devolution priority programme.

We received proposals from a number of local authorities on 10 January expressing interest in joining the Devolution Priority Programme. We are reviewing these at pace, and we hope to announce places on the Programme in the coming weeks.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on local authorities in Norfolk.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 11851 on 8 November 2024.

Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) Norfolk County Council and (b) North Norfolk District Council on a devolution deal for Norfolk.

This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of devolving further powers on transport to Norfolk local authorities.

This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.

Communities and Local Government, when her Department plans to bring forward the English Devolution Bill; and how that bill will impact Norfolk.

This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to provide a devolution deal for Norfolk.

This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.

Communities and Local Government, for what reason she has scrapped the proposed devolution deal for Norfolk.

This Government has recently announced that it will not be proceeding with the existing devolution deal with Norfolk County Council which was agreed with the previous Government in December 2022. Instead, Government are continuing with Norfolk to deliver a more ambitious new agreement as we lay the foundations for the English Devolution Bill.This Government strongly believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined institutions with a directly elected leader. Mayors should have a unique role in an institution which allows them to focus fully on their devolved strategic responsibilities, working hand in glove with council leaders who will vitally also focus on the delivery of the essential services for which they are responsible.Conflating these two responsibilities into the same individual and institution, as is the case under the mayoral Single Local Authority model of devolution, would risk the optimal delivery of both and is not in line with the direction of travel we are setting out ahead of the English Devolution Bill.