Planning Reform

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I have seen that in my constituency, where a new GP surgery i...

“Decisions and policies are most trusted when the people making them are representatives of the p...

I think localism as a principle of good Government is very important. I am a strong believer in t...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

Of course—it would not be a debate without the hon. Gentleman.

I commend the right hon. Gentleman for bringing this debate forward. Planning rules on the mainla...

I totally agree. The hon. Gentleman is exactly right: councils need to have the planning departme...

The right hon. Member will be aware that there is a Government-imposed cap on how much money loca...

That is a very reasonable question. I would need to look at the detail of the policy to see wheth...

I would not be a Somerset representative if I did not mention the phosphate levels on the Somerse...

I confess that I think the issues surrounding phosphate and nutrient neutrality need to be addres...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

I will give way, but then I should make progress.

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that some of us do not give or accept that portrayal of the ...

In response to the hon. Lady’s point, I am strongly in favour of making sure that we can better e...

It is an honour to serve under your guidance this morning, Mr Betts. This is an important debate ...

In May of this year I will have completed 19 years of service as Conservative Member of Parliamen...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I thank the right hon. Member for Mi...

We now move on to the Front Benchers. For Labour, Matthew Pennycook.

10.32 am

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Betts. I congratulate the right hon. Member f...

It is a great pleasure to respond to this debate and serve under your chairmanship, Mr Betts. I t...

The Minister indicated that the new NPPF uses the word “advisory”—the Government have always used...

We are very clear that we want 300,000 more homes to be built in England every year. What we have...

Will the Minister give way?

I really want to make some progress.

We are absolutely committed to modernising our plannin...

I speak as an immigrant to this country—we left communist Poland in 1978—but does the Minister ag...

We have to acknowledge that a lot of the settlement in the UK in the course of the last two years...

I am glad to hear the Minister recommit to the Government’s housing target of 300,000 homes a yea...

We have been very clear that our target is 300,000, but we want local communities to buy into it....

Will the Minister join me in challenging the Labour party? It claims that it will come in on a wh...

I agree 100%. The proof is in the delivery, and London in 2022 was the worst performing region fo...

Will the Minister give way on that point?

I will take this as a final intervention, because I do need to get quite a few things on the reco...

I am incredibly grateful to the Minister for giving way again. Recent interventions have shown th...

I think I have been very clear in what I have said about the green belt. The green belt should be...

Will the Minister give way?

No; I have made it quite clear that there are points I want to put on the record.

The Gover...

I thank the Minister for her gracious comments about giving me time to respond. This has been a v...