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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department commissioned work to construct a national database of build-out rates on large sites; what the project specification is for that work; and what the timetable is for that work to be completed.

The Department ran a competitive tender to procure data on planning applications and development pipeline, which closed on 23 March 2018.

The specification for this database is publicly available at the following link: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/cc21a568-739a-4090-8b7d-d58eb8b4cb84.

The specification covers a considerable amount of information relating to planning and development data. Very large sites are often complex in nature and as such the Department is currently working with the supplier to establish a robust methodology to consistently provide build-out information. This is currently being scoped and due to the complexity involved it is not possible to provide a definitive date for completion.