Ports: Planning

(asked on 15th January 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether consideration is being given to granting Critical National Priority status to ports across the United Kingdom.


Answered by
Keir Mather Portrait
Keir Mather
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This question was answered on 22nd January 2026

Ports play an essential role in the supply chain and in enabling energy developments. The advancement of Critical National Priority (CNP) projects will stimulate ports to meet demand. In practice CNP projects will bring about a demonstrable need for port capacity, and in conjunction with the strong weight attached to the need to service such demand in the National Policy Statement for Ports (NPSP), will provide sufficient priority for port development.

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