Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of vulnerable groups to access planning consultations.

Under the Equality Act 2010, all public bodies have a Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) to have due regard to certain equality considerations when exercising their functions, this includes public engagements such as planning consultations.

Planning consultations are carried out through a range of methods and local planning authorities are required to publish these on their website. Public authorities must make their website accessible and publish and keep updated an accessibility statement on their website.

The duty should always be applied in a proportionate way depending on the circumstances of the case and the seriousness of the potential equality impact.