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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to protect historic pauper burial sites from (a) private development and (b) inappropriate land use.

Burial grounds can be considered as open space, which is defined in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as all open space of public value. There are strong safeguards set out in the NPPF to ensure the continued protection of existing open space.

The designation of land as Local Green Space also allows communities to identify and protect green areas of particular importance to them.