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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of removing Sport England’s role as a statutory planning consultee under the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on the consideration of sporting and recreational needs in local planning decisions.

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill contains no provisions relating to the role of Sports England in the planning system.

The government is committed to reviewing the existing statutory consultee arrangements to ensure they align with the government’s ambitions for growth.

As per the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 10 March 2025 (HCWS510), we intend to consult on removing a limited number of statutory consultees, including Sports England.

We also intend to review the range and type of planning applications on which statutory consultees are required to be consulted and consider whether some types of application could be removed, or addressed by alternative means of engagement and provision of expert advice.

Further details will be set out in due course.