Housing

(asked on 24th March 2022) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of setting minimum standards for local authorities to meet local housing need.


Answered by
Stuart Andrew Portrait
Stuart Andrew
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This question was answered on 1st April 2022

The standard method for assessing local housing need is used by councils as a guide when they develop their local plans. It is an assessment of the minimum number of homes needed in an area and comprises a baseline of 2014-based household projections, informed by population projections, which are then adjusted to take account of affordability and capped to make the increase realistic for areas. In December 2020 following a review, a 35% uplift for the 20 most populated urban areas was added to ensure that the standard method was consistent with the aim to deliver 300,000 homes a year.

Councils decide their own housing requirement once they have considered their ability to meet their own needs in their area. This includes taking local circumstances and constraints into account and working with neighbouring authorities if it would be more appropriate for needs to be met elsewhere. This recognises that not everywhere will be able to meet their housing need in full.

The Secretary of State appoints an independent person to carry out plan examinations. The Planning Inspectorate plays an important role in examining plans impartially and publicly to ensure that they are legally compliant and sound. As set out in the National Planning Policy Framework, for a plan to be considered sound it should be positively prepared, effective, consistent with national policy and based on proportionate evidence.

Reticulating Splines