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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms exist for his Department to intervene when local authorities are unable to deliver promised regeneration.

The government believes in the power of local authorities to deliver regeneration and that is why we introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Act to reform the planning system and give local authorities the powers they need. In planning matters, the Secretary of State has powers, in certain circumstances, to call in planning applications or recover appeals for determination. My department also monitors local planning authority performance on the speed and quality of decision-making. Authorities that fail to meet the statutory thresholds may be designated, allowing applicants the option to apply directly to the Planning Inspectorate.

The government is ensuring that local authorities have the resources they need to plan effectively and deliver growth. This includes significantly increasing our ambition to grow the planning workforce — targeting around 1,400 new recruits across the planning system by the end of this Parliament. Alongside recruitment, we are funding specialist training and advice through the Planning Advisory Service, supporting complex developments via ATLAS, and providing targeted funding to the authorities under the greatest pressure to help accelerate applications and get projects built more quickly. My department also supports Mayors, where appropriate, to establish Mayoral Development Corporations as a mechanism to accelerate regeneration and development.

Where severe concerns arise about an authority’s ability to discharge its functions effectively, the Department may consider whether there are wider systemic failures impacting compliance with the Best Value Duty. Where an authority is failing, or is at risk of failing, to comply with that duty, the Secretary of State has powers to inspect and intervene under the Local Government Act 1999.