Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, CP 1337, published on 23 June 2025, when she plans to implement the reduction in opportunities to challenge consent decisions.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill introduces changes to the way judicial reviews are handled for National Policy Statements and development consent orders relating to nationally significant infrastructure projects. It removes the paper permission stage, meaning applications will go directly to an oral permission hearing in the High Court. In addition, where the High Court decides at that hearing that a case is “totally without merit,” the claimant will not have a right of appeal.

The Government intends to commence these provisions as soon as practicable after Royal Assent, once the necessary procedural changes are in place.