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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to ensure that Ministers who make decisions on (a) called-in planning applications, (b) recovered planning appeals and (c) Special Development Orders will be required to undertake the same training on planning as councillors.

On 28 May 2025, my Department published a technical consultation on proposals for reform of planning committees. It can be found on gov.uk here.

We are currently reviewing the feedback received and will set out further details, including in relation to mandatory member training, in due course.