Written questions by Morton.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral statement by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Growth and Building Safety of 4 March 2025 on Plan for Neighbourhoods, Official Report, columns 210-212, what steps her Department plans to take to ensure Neigbhourhood boards are representative of the community.

The local authority or an alternative organisation, such as a community group if agreed by the chair and local authority, should act as secretariat to the board. Recognising the partnership between the board and local authority, council officers may provide secretariat support and can sit as an observer to discussions, if agreed with the chair. We strongly encourage the board to consider whether an alternative organisation, e.g. a local community group, could act or support in this role to build capacity and capability. In line with the principles of public life and to ensure the local community can hold the board to account, its operations must be transparent, with membership and governance arrangements (including minutes of meetings and decision logs) published on the lead council’s website.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework published in December 2024, what her Department's definitions of (a) grey belt and (b) green belt are.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, 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.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, what instruction has been given to the planning inspectorate on determining land as grey belt.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, 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.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, what steps she plans to take to ensure consultation with local communities before any developments are approved on grey belt land.

I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Question UIN 26011 on 31 January 2025 and Question UIN 26507 on 5 February 2025. Land is Green Belt if designated as such in a Local Plan.On 27 February, 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.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support (a) councils and (b) local authorities to improve high streets.

The commercial vacancy rate is 13.3% in England and 16.2% in the West Midlands. This government is committed to tackling high street vacancy and supporting small businesses. On 4 March, we launched the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion investment to help revitalise local areas and fight deprivation in 75 places across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. We also introduced High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs), a power to auction the lease of persistently vacant commercial properties. This is backed by a fund of over £1 million to help local authorities implement these measures. Our Small Business Strategy, to be published in due course, will set out how we intend to further support small businesses on the high street and beyond.

Communities and Local Government, what estimate her Department has made of the number of empty retail units in town centres; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing new (a) grants and (b) funding streams to encourage small businesses to occupy vacant spaces.

The commercial vacancy rate is 13.3% in England and 16.2% in the West Midlands. This government is committed to tackling high street vacancy and supporting small businesses. On 4 March, we launched the Plan for Neighbourhoods, a £1.5 billion investment to help revitalise local areas and fight deprivation in 75 places across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. We also introduced High Street Rental Auctions (HSRAs), a power to auction the lease of persistently vacant commercial properties. This is backed by a fund of over £1 million to help local authorities implement these measures. Our Small Business Strategy, to be published in due course, will set out how we intend to further support small businesses on the high street and beyond.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to monitor the impact of development on grey belt land on local (a) ecosystems, (b) infrastructure and (c) community resources.

It is for individual local authorities to plan and make decisions regarding the locations of new development in their areas.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances. Where a local authority proposes to alter its Green Belt boundaries through a Local Plan, the revised draft Plan will be created in consultation with the local community and submitted for rigorous independent examination by planning inspectors prior to its adoption.Similarly, any planning application will be assessed in the light of policies in the adopted Plan, of relevant policy in the National Planning Policy Framework, and of all other factors the decision-makers find relevant to a particular planning case and its location, including the evidenced concerns of local people.We have been clear that development on grey belt must be sustainable and we have introduced new Golden Rules to ensure that development benefits communities and nature. Our reforms to Green Belt policy do not lessen existing policy obligations to protect designated areas and minimise impacts on biodiversity.Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework are set out in Annex 1 of it.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to ensure environmental protections are maintained when development occurs on grey belt land.

It is for individual local authorities to plan and make decisions regarding the locations of new development in their areas.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances. Where a local authority proposes to alter its Green Belt boundaries through a Local Plan, the revised draft Plan will be created in consultation with the local community and submitted for rigorous independent examination by planning inspectors prior to its adoption.Similarly, any planning application will be assessed in the light of policies in the adopted Plan, of relevant policy in the National Planning Policy Framework, and of all other factors the decision-makers find relevant to a particular planning case and its location, including the evidenced concerns of local people.We have been clear that development on grey belt must be sustainable and we have introduced new Golden Rules to ensure that development benefits communities and nature. Our reforms to Green Belt policy do not lessen existing policy obligations to protect designated areas and minimise impacts on biodiversity.Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework are set out in Annex 1 of it.

Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure community involvement in decisions on the (a) designation and (b) development of grey belt land.

It is for individual local authorities to plan and make decisions regarding the locations of new development in their areas.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances. Where a local authority proposes to alter its Green Belt boundaries through a Local Plan, the revised draft Plan will be created in consultation with the local community and submitted for rigorous independent examination by planning inspectors prior to its adoption.Similarly, any planning application will be assessed in the light of policies in the adopted Plan, of relevant policy in the National Planning Policy Framework, and of all other factors the decision-makers find relevant to a particular planning case and its location, including the evidenced concerns of local people.We have been clear that development on grey belt must be sustainable and we have introduced new Golden Rules to ensure that development benefits communities and nature. Our reforms to Green Belt policy do not lessen existing policy obligations to protect designated areas and minimise impacts on biodiversity.Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework are set out in Annex 1 of it.

Communities and Local Government, what transitional arrangements she plans to put in place for (a) local authorities and (b) developers to adapt to the provisions on grey belt development in the new National Planning Policy Framework.

It is for individual local authorities to plan and make decisions regarding the locations of new development in their areas.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances. Where a local authority proposes to alter its Green Belt boundaries through a Local Plan, the revised draft Plan will be created in consultation with the local community and submitted for rigorous independent examination by planning inspectors prior to its adoption.Similarly, any planning application will be assessed in the light of policies in the adopted Plan, of relevant policy in the National Planning Policy Framework, and of all other factors the decision-makers find relevant to a particular planning case and its location, including the evidenced concerns of local people.We have been clear that development on grey belt must be sustainable and we have introduced new Golden Rules to ensure that development benefits communities and nature. Our reforms to Green Belt policy do not lessen existing policy obligations to protect designated areas and minimise impacts on biodiversity.Transitional arrangements for implementing policies in the revised National Planning Policy Framework are set out in Annex 1 of it.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024, what her Department’s timescales are for implementing the provisions relating to paragraphs (a) 148 and (b) 155 on grey belt land development.

The policies in paragraphs 148 and 155 of the revised National Planning Policy Framework came into effect on the day of publication, 12 December 2024.Transitional arrangements in relation to the implementation of these policies are set out in Annex 1.Further guidance to help local authorities review their Green Belt and identify grey belt land, will be published in the coming weeks.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to the National Planning Policy Framework, published in December 2024, how grey belt is defined for the purposes of (a) plan-making and (b) decision-making.

The definition of grey belt, for the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, is provided in the glossary of the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024.The Framework also makes clear that before concluding that exceptional circumstances exist to justify changes to Green Belt boundaries, the relevant authority should be able to demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development.Where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans should give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt land that has not been previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations. Guidance to assist authorities in assessing their Green Belt and identifying grey belt will be published in the coming weeks.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances and it is for local planning authorities to assess whether Green Belt land should be released. However, the Framework makes clear that, where grey belt land is identified, it should be brought forward for development only where this is sustainable. New ‘golden rules’ will be applied to ensure that development benefits communities and nature.

Communities and Local Government, what criteria local authorities are expected to apply when identifying land categorised as grey belt.

The definition of grey belt, for the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, is provided in the glossary of the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024.The Framework also makes clear that before concluding that exceptional circumstances exist to justify changes to Green Belt boundaries, the relevant authority should be able to demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development.Where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans should give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt land that has not been previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations. Guidance to assist authorities in assessing their Green Belt and identifying grey belt will be published in the coming weeks.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances and it is for local planning authorities to assess whether Green Belt land should be released. However, the Framework makes clear that, where grey belt land is identified, it should be brought forward for development only where this is sustainable. New ‘golden rules’ will be applied to ensure that development benefits communities and nature.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the use of grey belt land on the Green Belt.

The definition of grey belt, for the purposes of plan-making and decision-making, is provided in the glossary of the revised National Planning Policy Framework, published on 12 December 2024.The Framework also makes clear that before concluding that exceptional circumstances exist to justify changes to Green Belt boundaries, the relevant authority should be able to demonstrate that it has examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development.Where it is necessary to release Green Belt land for development, plans should give priority to previously developed land, then consider grey belt land that has not been previously developed, and then other Green Belt locations. Guidance to assist authorities in assessing their Green Belt and identifying grey belt will be published in the coming weeks.The amount of development that occurs in any given Green Belt will depend on local circumstances and it is for local planning authorities to assess whether Green Belt land should be released. However, the Framework makes clear that, where grey belt land is identified, it should be brought forward for development only where this is sustainable. New ‘golden rules’ will be applied to ensure that development benefits communities and nature.

Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to ensure the provision of adequate funding to support (a) up-to-date local plans and (b) high-quality design codes.

Within weeks of taking office, the government consulted on increasing planning fees to put planning services on a firmer footing and to reflect the real costs of the services they provide.Subject to the outcome of our consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, the government will provide funding to enable eligible local authorities to progress their plans to examination quickly. Further details on the funding will be provided in due course.More generally, the government is committed to supporting local planning authorities. At the Budget, the Chancellor announced a £46 million package of investment into the planning system to support capacity and capability in local planning authorities. This includes funding for the recruitment and training of 300 graduate and apprentice planners, along with funding to Public Practice for the recruitment of planners, architects, and urban designers. Together, this framework provides a clear basis for the delivery of more high-quality, well-designed homes.We are also developing a wider programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector, to ensure that local planning authorities have the skills and capacity they need, both now and in the future to modernise local plans and speed up decision making, including through innovative use of digital planning data and software.

Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to utilise architects to allow development of complex brownfield sites in proposed National Planning Policy Framework reforms.

National planning policy sets out the circumstances in which the development of brownfield land is considered appropriate, and the standards that are expected, including a high quality of design. It does not specify the professions which should be involved, which is a matter for the client, but is important that a range of disciplines is brought to bear as appropriate to the nature of the site, and architects will often play a key role. We have set out proposals for how brownfield development could be better supported in our consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and our discussion paper on ‘brownfield passports’.