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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to assist local authorities in publishing local plans for sustainable development.

The Government’s National Planning Policy Framework, published on 27 March 2012, sets out that it is the purpose of planning to enable sustainable development. The Framework must be taken into account in both developing Local Plans and taking decisions on particular planning applications. The Government has since published planning guidance on 6 March 2014 which reiterates the importance of planning for sustainable development, and provides practical advice on how to achieve positive economic, social and environmental outcomes in plan-making.