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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Office for Environmental Protection publication entitled OEP gives advice to Government on the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, published on 1 May 2025.

The government welcomes that the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) share our view that the Nature Restoration Fund has the potential to secure better outcomes for nature whilst also unlocking and accelerating necessary development.

We are giving careful consideration to the advice the OEP have provided on proposed changes to environmental law contained in Part 3 of the Bill.