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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise housebuilders to develop brownfield sites.

This Government has intensified its drive to increase the take-up of brownfield sites for development, especially new homes. National policy and guidance expect local authorities to prioritise brownfield land for development wherever practicable, and adopt Local Plan policies that support this effort. We want 90 per cent of suitable brownfield sites to have permissions for new homes in place by 2020. As well as accelerating disposal of public sector brownfield for new homes and widening the scope of permitted development to help bring thousands of redundant buildings into residential use, we recently launched our £3 billion Home Building Fund. This will provide loans for smaller building firms, custom builders, offsite construction and essential infrastructure, and help to make more land, much of it brownfield, available for new homes. An additional £1.2 billion will enable starter homes to be created on brownfield land. Housebuilders will be better informed about suitable sites by the new Brownfield Registers, and Permission in principle will give them certainty and greater confidence that their housing schemes can go ahead.