Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Environmental Development Plans proposed in Part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill will be required to follow the mitigation hierarchy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Environmental Development Plans will provide the flexibility to diverge from project-by-project mitigation and a restrictive application of the mitigation hierarchy.
However, this will only be where Natural England consider that this would deliver better outcomes for nature over the course of the delivery plan.
An Environmental Development Plan can only be put in place where Natural England and the Secretary of State are satisfied that the delivery of conservation measures will outweigh the negative effects of development.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the report by the National Farmers Union entitled APR and BPR reform alternative, published on 19 February 2025, on changes to agricultural property relief and business property relief.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given to UIN 32918.