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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2016 to Question 44488, what safeguards his Department plans to propose to ensure that changes in policy for minor planning applications do not favour developers at the expense of local residents.

In an area where the council has been designated as underperforming, applicants can choose to submit their application directly to the Planning Inspectorate for determination, instead of the council. Applications submitted directly to the Planning Inspectorate will be subject to the same general procedures as those that go to local planning authorities. This includes undertaking consultation on the proposal with the local community. Decisions that are unnecessarily slow, or which refuse development without good reason, can have a real impact by delaying or discouraging investment. That is bad for the economy and bad for communities, so taking action where there is clear evidence that a service is not being delivered effectively is beneficial to all.