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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to introduce a Government-maintained, transparent database of information on land prices, transactions, options, ownership and build out rates.

The Housing White Paper announced a package of measures to improve data on build-out rates, and land subject to options and other contractual controls.

We have consulted on measures to improve the transparency of build out rates. There was strong stakeholder support, and we are continuing to explore the opportunities for greater transparency. This work will be informed by the current independent review on build out being led by Sir Oliver Letwin.

We will shortly be publishing a call for evidence on proposals to improve the transparency of land subject to options and other contractual controls.

Data on land prices, transactions and ownership is held by HM Land Registry, a non-ministerial department sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.