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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the ability of the English planning system to enforce environmental standards.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment. Local authorities can refuse planning permission for developments that would cause unacceptable harm to the environment. They can also take a range of enforcement actions against any breach of planning conditions imposed to mitigate potential environmental harm.

In the reforms put forward for consultation in the White Paper, Planning for the Future, we committed to seeking to strengthen enforcement powers and sanctions so that, as we move towards a rules-based system, communities can have confidence those rules will be upheld. Consultation on Planning for the future closed on 29 October 2020, and we are currently considering the responses.