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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on the (a) health and (b) well-being of residents of the continued relaxation of permitted hours of construction under the Business and Planning Act 2020 during national lockdowns.

As part of the measures to enable the safe reopening of construction sites, temporary flexibilities were introduced through the Business and Planning Act 2020 for a new fast track application route to amend planning restrictions on construction working hours, complemented by a Written Ministerial Statement in May 2020. These measures balance the need to facilitate safe reopening with considerations about the health and amenity effects on those living nearby.