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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to p.61, Appendix 2 of the document entitled Annex 1: Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects reform of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill: Impact assessment, published on 6 May 2025, for what reason the dates listed in that document for the next updates to National Policy Statements differ to those on p.25 of the Plan for Change, CP 1210, published on December 2024.

The dates the hon. Member refers to relate to different aspects of our reforms to National Policy Statements (NPSs).

The ‘next summer’ date referred to in the government’s Plan for Change relates to the commitment made by the Chancellor on the 8 July last year to update relevant NPSs within the next 12 months.

The government also committed itself to legislate to ensure that all NPSs are updated at least every five years. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes a transitional period for older NPSs. To comply with the legislation, any NPS which is more than five years old at the time the Bill receives Royal Assent, will be required to be updated within two years.