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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of green belt policy since 2010 in England.

We have ensured strong protection for Green Belt in national planning policy, making clear that most new building is inappropriate there; and that a Green Belt boundary may be altered only in exceptional circumstances, using the Local Plan process. We abolished regional housing targets that threatened the Green Belt. Green Belt area remains constant at 13 per cent of England, successfully restraining unwanted urban sprawl in many areas. The Green Belt is 34,000 hectares larger than in 1997 if we disregard land reclassified as national park.