Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 October 2017 to Question 9131, what steps his Department takes to ensure that local authorities meet their responsibility to assess all local housing needs, including Traveller sites, through their local plan.

Under the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Policy for Traveller Sites, the Government asks local planning authorities to assess their full housing needs for all types of housing, including travellers’ sites, and identify land to meet that need through their local plan.

The Planning Policy for Traveller Sites states that if a local planning authority cannot demonstrate an up–to-date 5 year supply of deliverable sites, this should be a significant material consideration in any subsequent planning decision when considering applications for the grant of temporary planning permission.

The NPPF clarifies that local plans will be examined by an independent inspector whose role is to assess whether the plan has been prepared in accordance with the Duty to Cooperate, legal and procedural requirements. The independent inspector also assesses whether it is sound, which includes whether it is consistent with national policy, including the Planning Policy for Traveller Sites.