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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making (a) Integrated Care Boards and (b) NHS trusts statutory consultees in the planning process.

NHS and Integrated Care Boards are consultees on local plans. This helps ensure that local strategies to improve health and the provision of the required health infrastructure are considered upfront in plans and in planning decisions. There are no current plans to make NHS and Integrated Care Boards statutory consultees in the planning application process.