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

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he taking to avoid concentrating new housing investment in areas already facing shortages of services and infrastructure from rapid development.

We are committed to enabling more homes to be built in the right places, and that is why we are taking steps in our Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill to get more local plans in place to deliver infrastructure in co-ordination with new homes. To make sure these homes are supported by appropriate infrastructure and services, we are introducing a new Infrastructure Levy to replace Section 106 obligations and the Community Infrastructure Levy.

We will also require local authorities to prepare infrastructure delivery strategies to ensure the right balance between delivering homes and infrastructure. This will build on policies we have already enacted in the National Planning Policy Framework, which set an expectation that local plan policies should make sufficient provision for housing, commercial development, infrastructure and community facilities.