Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of (a) onshore oil developments in the UK on areas of significant housing growth such as the Ardingly Reservoir catchment and (b) those developments on drinking water.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local planning authorities and the Environment Agency are responsible for assessing the impact of onshore oil and gas developments on housing and drinking water respectively.
The North Sea Transition Authority regulates exploration and development licensing for England’s onshore oil and gas resources on behalf of the Secretary of State. Licence holders require further consents and permits before any operations take place.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2026 to Question 106884, whether the requirement for local planning authorities to maintain published plans and drawings of residential development on planning registers applies indefinitely after that development has been completed.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is important that there is a publicly available record of what has been granted planning permission, as this may be used for a range of purposes. For example, these may be used to identify breaches in planning control, or for conveyancing purposes.
However, legislation does not specify how long published plans and drawings of residential development should be retained on planning registers.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what are the internal areas within the proposed Chinese Embassy that would be exempt from UK inspection and verification.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.
The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. Planning enforcement is addressed at paragraphs 103-105 of the decision letter.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
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 has taken with Homes England to help support start-up builders.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Small and medium sized housebuilders are essential to meeting the government’s housing ambitions and supporting local economies.
The government is acting to support SME housebuilders by increasing their access to land, providing further financial assistance and easing the burden of regulation.
To that end, we have provided a £700 million extension to the Home Building Fund to help them build a further 12,000 homes and doubled the ENABLE Build Guarantee scheme to boost SME access to finance.
We are making more Homes England land available to the sector through SME-only land sales with less bureaucratic sales process.
We have also committed to simplifying the planning system with proposals for a new medium site size definition with corresponding policy and regulatory easements to help SME housebuilders thrive and grow. For further detail, I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 16 December 2025 (HCWS1187).
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Waverley Borough Council and (b) East Hampshire District Council on the provision of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspaces and housing delivery.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities must ensure that development does not adversely affect the integrity of sites protected under the Habitats Regulations (including through mitigation measures where appropriate).
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) is one type of mitigation for the recreational pressures that new housing can place on protected habitats like Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). It provides an attractive alternative green space for new residents, drawing visitors away from sensitive habitats.
Local planning authorities are responsible for ensuring that developers deliver SANGs where they are needed, following an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulations of a relevant development. It is therefore for local planning authorities to monitor local capacity of SANGs.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the availability of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace capacity within local planning authorities covering the (a) Thames Basin Heaths, (b) Thursley, Hankley and Frensham Commons, and (c) Wealden Heaths Phase II Special Protection Areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities must ensure that development does not adversely affect the integrity of sites protected under the Habitats Regulations (including through mitigation measures where appropriate).
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) is one type of mitigation for the recreational pressures that new housing can place on protected habitats like Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). It provides an attractive alternative green space for new residents, drawing visitors away from sensitive habitats.
Local planning authorities are responsible for ensuring that developers deliver SANGs where they are needed, following an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulations of a relevant development. It is therefore for local planning authorities to monitor local capacity of SANGs.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department collects or holds data on the number of residential planning permissions that cannot be implemented due to a lack of available Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace capacity.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local planning authorities must ensure that development does not adversely affect the integrity of sites protected under the Habitats Regulations (including through mitigation measures where appropriate).
Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) is one type of mitigation for the recreational pressures that new housing can place on protected habitats like Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). It provides an attractive alternative green space for new residents, drawing visitors away from sensitive habitats.
Local planning authorities are responsible for ensuring that developers deliver SANGs where they are needed, following an Appropriate Assessment under the Habitats Regulations of a relevant development. It is therefore for local planning authorities to monitor local capacity of SANGs.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether there is a tracker document for the (a) pipeline and (b) applications in relation to the 150 national infrastructure application target.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department tracks the progress of the commitment to decide 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of this Parliament.
The National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) are responsible for the Infrastructure Pipeline.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Section 321 directions have been issued to allow for closed planning hearings in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In the last ten years Section 321 directions have been issued in relation to two applications.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 May 2024, to Question 53574, on Chinese Embassy: Planning Permission, and with reference to page 26 of the Section 106 agreement, for what reason the agreement references Articles 13 and 141 of the EU Treaty Articles.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Full reasons for the decision in question are set out in the Secretary of State’s decision letter which can be found on gov.uk here.
The letter and associated Inspector’s Report must be read in their entirety. The EU Treaty Articles are addressed at footnote 47 of the decision letter.