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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that public sector workers are prioritised in the purchase of affordable housing that has been developed through the sale of public sector land.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework, which was published for consultation on 5 March 2018, makes clear that essential local workers should be taken into account in planning for affordable homes. It defines a broad category of essential local workers for this purpose, as public sector employees who provide frontline services such as health and education.

This change will help ensure that the needs of key public sector workers are reflected in planning policies and development decisions, including schemes involving the sale or development of public sector land.