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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information (a) her Department and (b) the Planning Inspectorate holds on which local authorities have (i) slowed and (ii) stopped house building due to nutrient neutrality requirements.

At present, advice on the need to achieve nutrient neutrality applies to areas of land within approximately sixty local planning authorities. However, the provision of such advice does not mean that housebuilding in these areas is necessarily being stopped or slowed down as it depends whether the nutrient impact of development can be mitigated.

While there is a developing pipeline of mitigation available, including schemes supported by government funding, we are exploring solutions to support the building of homes affected by nutrient neutrality without weakening environmental protections.