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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent steps he has taken to protect the Green Belt in Staffordshire.

The government is committed to preserving Green Belts, which have served England’s towns and cities well over many decades.

We have not changed the five purposes of the Green Belt set out in paragraph 143 of the National Planning Policy Framework.

The Framework still contains strong protections for the Green Belt, making it clear that inappropriate development should not be approved unless justified by very special circumstances.