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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will list the local authorities which do not have an up-to-date local plan as at 27 October 2021; and by when each of those authorities is expected to have an up-to-date local plan in place.

The National Planning Policy Framework states that policies in local plans and spatial development strategies should be reviewed to assess whether they need updating at least once every five years, and should then be updated as necessary. This is a legal requirement as set out in Regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

As of 27 October 2021,180 (53%) Local Planning Authorities have an adopted local plan (under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 ) that is over five years old; and 25 (7%) do not have an adopted local plan (under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004).

In March 2020 Government set out a clear expectation that local planning authorities must have an up-to-date plan in place by the end of 2023. On 19 January 2021, a Written Ministerial Statement was made which set out the importance of maintaining progress to get up to date local plans in place by December 2023. The Written Ministerial Statement is available at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-01-19/hcws720.