Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to safeguard freedom of religion and belief in the context of new or updated hate crime and anti-discrimination definitions.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Freedom of religion and belief is a fundamental human right. People are expected to express their views concerning religion and beliefs respectfully, acting within the confines of the law when providing criticism. This government is committed to protecting the right of individuals to freely practise their religion and we will not tolerate religious hatred in any form.
Our approach to tackling religious hatred does not and would never inhibit free speech or override fundamental rights such as the right to freedom of religion and belief. Any definition of religious hatred that the Government has adopted or may choose to adopt would be non-statutory.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken from referral to the beginning of a planning application for significant development projects.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The available information shows that, during the five quarters from 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2022, local planning authorities made 53 decisions on major public service infrastructure developments. Of these, 46 were decided on time: eight within ten weeks and 38 within the period agreed within a performance agreement.
Figures for the available quarters are available in the PS2 CSV open data file here.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken for planning decisions to be made for significant development projects.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The available information shows that, during the five quarters from 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2022, local planning authorities made 53 decisions on major public service infrastructure developments. Of these, 46 were decided on time: eight within ten weeks and 38 within the period agreed within a performance agreement.
Figures for the available quarters are available in the PS2 CSV open data file here.
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the British Geological Survey, Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK, published on 17 April, which identified potentially strategically important deposits throughout the UK; and what assessment they have made of the ability of local planning authorities to process related planning applications efficiently.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
'Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK' was a study undertaken by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, a programme sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report delivers on the Critical Minerals Strategy's commitment to collate geoscientific data and identify target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK. It is a preliminary assessment, and its findings do not mean that the prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. The Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand next steps.
The Government recognises that many local planning authorities are facing capacity and capability challenges. To make sure that local planning authorities are able to deliver an effective planning service and our proposed reforms we are developing a programme of support, working with partners across the planning sector. The capacity and capability programme will seek to provide the direct support that is needed now, deliver training opportunities for existing planners, and further develop the future pipeline into the profession. In addition, we recently consulted on proposals to increase planning fees by 35% for major applications and 25% for all other applications to increase resourcing and improve the performance of local planning authorities.