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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 24 July 2023 to Question 194553 on Planning: Agriculture, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of consulting on proposals to help support the building of new glasshouses as set out at the Farm to Fork summit in May 2023.

We place great importance on our agriculture and food production, and this is reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework already requires local planning authorities to take into account all the benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. Where significant development of agricultural land is shown to be necessary, then we have been clear that planning authorities should seek to use poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.

Our recent consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework proposes a change to strengthen current policy on the consideration given to the relative value of agricultural land for food production.