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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of empty shops on high streets in England.

It is vital that we continue to help our local economies by supporting town centres and high streets to recover, adapt and evolve.

This is why government is providing support to places through the High Streets Task Force. Over five years this is providing hands-on support to local areas like Coventry to develop data-driven innovative strategies to tackle issues such as empty properties and connect local areas to relevant experts. The Task Force will be rolling out its expert, training and data offer across the country in due course and has already launched a range of online support.

We have also set out our plans to reform the planning process in the Planning for the Future consultation, open until 29 October. As part of this, we seek to streamline and modernise the planning process, meaning places across the country are able to respond to the needs of their communities and best utilise the land available for more homes in and around town centres and high streets, levelling up the economic and social opportunities available to our communities.

Government has also recently delivered the Open Doors pilot project in five town centres. This project seeks to bring empty properties back into use by matching landlords of vacant premises with local community groups looking for space. Since July 2019 more than 43 community groups have benefitted from using the spaces.