Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help strengthen enforcement powers for councils to prevent unauthorised development on Green Belt land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Enforcement is at the discretion of local planning authorities. They have a wide range of powers with strong penalties for non-compliance and it is for them to decide how and when they use those powers depending on the circumstances of each case.
The government has no plans to amend local planning authorities’ enforcement powers at this time. We will, however, continue to keep the operation of the enforcement system under review.
With regard to capacity and capability, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to question UIN 67508 on 14 July 2025.