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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Delegation of the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Fair Funding Review on planning fees in local authorities which have lost funding in real terms.

The Planning and Infrastructure Act provides the Secretary of State with the power to delegate the setting of planning fees to local planning authorities.

The Fair Funding Review considers how resources are distributed across local government based on relative need and demand for services. It does not determine planning fee levels, which remain cost-recovery charges rather than general funding streams.

The government is supporting local authorities to manage their updated funding positions by introducing changes over the multi-year Settlement and protecting councils’ income through transitional arrangements, including locally retained business rates growth.