Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the (a) leadership, (b) capacity or (c) capability of planning departments in local authorities.

I recognise the challenges that local planning authorities are facing. Our aim is to ensure that local authority planning departments have the capacity and skills to make better places, deliver levelling up and provide an efficient service.

We are engaging with representatives from across local government, the private sector, and professional bodies to design and deliver a skills strategy.