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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of delays in the S106 process; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of standardised agreements.

The government recognise that protracted negotiations on section 106 agreements increase costs for local authorities and developers, and can have a disproportionate impact on SME builders.

On 28 May 2025, the government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Reforming Site Thresholds (which can be found on gov.uk here). The working paper seeks views and evidence as to how section 106 obligations can be agreed more quickly, and the role national government should play in improving the process – including the merits of a standardised s106 template for medium sites. We will consider comments received on this working paper, which will inform a consultation later in the year.

Planning practice guidance on planning obligations encourages local planning authorities to use and publish standard forms and templates to assist with the process of agreeing planning obligations. These could include model agreements and clauses (including those already published by other bodies), that could be made publicly available to help with the planning application process. The guidance also states that planning obligations should be negotiated to enable decisions on planning applications to be made within the statutory time limits or a longer period where agreed in writing between the local planning authority and the applicant.

The government is committed to strengthening the system of developer contributions, including section 106 planning obligations, to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.