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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with local authorities on consistency in local planning decisions.

A key objective of our planning reforms is to improve certainty and decision making in the planning system.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill includes provisions to that end, including a national scheme of delegation and requiring planning committee members to undertake mandatory training before they can take planning decisions.

Planning law requires local planning authorities to publicise planning applications through various means, including site notices, advertisements in local newspapers, and publishing information on their website. We are exploring ways to enhance community engagement through the greater digitalisation of the planning system. This will help remove barriers to participation in the planning application process, including among those in representative community groups.