Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Hamble Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) land value capture and (b) land valuation taxation since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In summer 2024, my Department commissioned the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) to provide a viability study to support proposals for new ‘Golden Rules’ for Green Belt development. These proposals were set out in the consultation on proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and other changes to the planning system, published in July 2024. The revised NPPF and a response to the public consultation was published in December 2024.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29188 on Agriculture and Business: Inheritance Tax, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing her Department's data collection methods to enable the collection of data on the number of estates containing woodlands impacted in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMRC guidance sets out that woodland is only agricultural property, and therefore qualifies for agricultural property relief, if it is occupied with, and that occupation is ancillary to, agricultural land or pasture. It will include woodland shelter belts, game coverts, fox coverts, coppices grown for fencing materials and clumps of amenity trees or spinneys. Woodlands occupied for purposes that are not agricultural, such as amenity woodland or woodland used for the production of commercial timber, are not agricultural property. However, they may be eligible for woodlands relief or business property relief.
Executors must include the value of any timber and woodland owned by the deceased that is not part of a farm in box 69 of the IHT400 form, alongside the value of the deceased’s other interests in any business or partnership (which may or may not be related to woodlands). Some farms may also include coppices, small woods and belts of trees that shelter the land, and the value of these should be included in the value of any farm, farmhouses and farmland owned by the deceased in box 68 of the IHT400 form.
However, as stated in our answer to UIN 29188, while estates include supporting documentation about the type of assets on which they claim agricultural and business property reliefs when submitting their claims, only the value of eligible assets is digitally captured in a format available for further analysis. It is also combined with the value of other assets in the boxes mentioned above, and these may or may not be related to woodlands. As such, any further level of detail is not readily available from historic claims to estimate how many future estates might contain woodland. It would be disproportionately costly for HMRC to manually review historic claims to digitally capture this information.
As detailed in my recent letter to the Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Inheritance Tax is currently operated by HMRC using a predominantly paper-based system. As part of my work to modernise HMRC, we plan to move to a digital system.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the fall in overall domestic beef production resulting from the proposed changes in agricultural policies and payments.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
The British beef sector is highly resilient and plays a significant role in the production of high- quality meat for both the domestic market and for export. It operates in an open market and the value of commodities is established by those in the supply chain. The government continues to work closely with the beef industry and to monitor the impacts of the range of commercial, environmental and market related factors which influence a farmer’s decision to rear beef.
The UK has a high degree of food security, built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. We produce 60% of all the food we need, and 73% of food which we can grow or rear in the UK for all or part of the year. These figures have changed little over the last 20 years: historical production figures, including for the commodities you reference, can be found in “Agriculture in the United Kingdom”, a publication of annual statistics about agriculture in the United Kingdom at GOV.UK. UK consumers have access through international trade to food products that cannot be produced here, or at least not on a year-round basis. This supplements domestic production, and also ensures that any disruption from risks such as adverse weather or disease does not affect the UK's overall security of supply.
Domestically, the Government has committed to broadly maintain the current level of food we produce. This includes sustainably boosting production in sectors where there are post-Brexit opportunities, including horticulture and seafood, and the Agriculture Act imposes a duty on the Secretary of State to have regard to the need to encourage environmentally sustainable food production. Our farming reforms aim to support a highly productive food producing sector by supporting farmers to manage land in a way that improves food production and is more environmentally sustainable, and by paying farmers to produce public goods such as water quality, biodiversity, animal health and welfare and climate change mitigation, alongside food production.
Speaking at the recent National Farmers Union Conference in Birmingham, the Prime Minister and the Environment Secretary announced a range of measures to boost productivity and resilience in the sector, including the largest ever grant offer for farmers in the coming financial year, expected to total £427 million. This includes doubling investment in productivity schemes, bolstering schemes such as the Improving Farming Productivity grant, which provides support for farmers to invest in automation and robotics, as well as solar installations to build on-farm energy security. The Prime Minister also announced a new annual UK-wide Food Security Index, which will capture and present the data needed to monitor levels of food security, and announced plans to hold the Farm to Fork Summit annually.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that commercial premises that are converted to residential use provide an adequate level of (a) affordable housing and (b) homes for social rent.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Commercial premises can be converted to residential use under permitted development rights. Under current guidance, contributions for affordable housing should not be sought for permitted development.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (the 2023 Act) introduces powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy which will reform the existing system of developer contributions in England. It will be possible for the Levy to capture land value uplift associated with permitted development, subject to provision that is made in regulations. Under our current proposals, the Infrastructure Levy will capture value uplift associated with the change of use of commercial buildings to residential use, whilst recognising the need to preserve the viability of brownfield development schemes. We are currently analysing responses to our recent technical consultation which sought views on this proposed approach.
If the Levy is charged on development it can be used to fund social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, and any other description of housing that Infrastructure Levy regulations may specify. This is set out in new section 204A(4) (in Schedule12 of the 2023 Act). This includes Social Rent homes and Affordable Rent homes.
Following the conclusion of the first two rounds of the Local Authority Housing Fund in 2024, an evaluation will be conducted which will include an assessment on the delivery routes that participating local authorities have taken.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Local Authority Housing Fund on the number of (a) commercial buildings that have been converted to residential use and (b) long-term empty homes that have been converted to affordable housing.
Answered by Lee Rowley
Commercial premises can be converted to residential use under permitted development rights. Under current guidance, contributions for affordable housing should not be sought for permitted development.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (the 2023 Act) introduces powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy which will reform the existing system of developer contributions in England. It will be possible for the Levy to capture land value uplift associated with permitted development, subject to provision that is made in regulations. Under our current proposals, the Infrastructure Levy will capture value uplift associated with the change of use of commercial buildings to residential use, whilst recognising the need to preserve the viability of brownfield development schemes. We are currently analysing responses to our recent technical consultation which sought views on this proposed approach.
If the Levy is charged on development it can be used to fund social housing within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, and any other description of housing that Infrastructure Levy regulations may specify. This is set out in new section 204A(4) (in Schedule12 of the 2023 Act). This includes Social Rent homes and Affordable Rent homes.
Following the conclusion of the first two rounds of the Local Authority Housing Fund in 2024, an evaluation will be conducted which will include an assessment on the delivery routes that participating local authorities have taken.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether his Department is taking steps with planning authorities to ensure that planning permission is granted only when local services are able to manage with increased demand.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The provision of the right infrastructure at the right time is very important to new and existing communities. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill gives the Government powers to create a new Infrastructure Levy. The Levy will allow infrastructure like schools, GP surgeries and new roads to be provided in a more effective, transparent and efficient manner. Local authorities will be able either to fund this provision themselves, or require developers to deliver them.
The new Levy will be a mandatory, non-negotiable charge, set and collected locally, to largely replace the complex and discretionary Section 106 regime and Community Infrastructure Levy. It will aim to capture land value uplift at a higher level than the current developer contribution regime.
The Levy will be brought forward through regulations that will set out the detail of how it will operate. We have published a technical consultation on the Infrastructure Levy, closing 9 June.
Asked by: Darren Jones (Labour - Bristol North West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has taken recent steps to encourage the use of biochar as a (a) soil promoter, (b) substitute for imported fertiliser and (c) carbon capture method.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department through its Direct Air Capture and Greenhouse Gas Removal Innovation Programme is supporting five biochar pilot demonstrators for carbon capture, at a value of £18.7million, to be completed by March 2025. UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) is also funding a biochar demonstrator project that will investigate the stability of biochar, as well as its impacts on the environment and soil ecosystems, in different UK land management scenarios. Use of biochar as a technology is at an early stage of development and therefore deployment potential, costs and possible side-effects from use are uncertain. Results from the projects supported will help to inform future government policy on biochar as a greenhouse gas removal method.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to monitor, understand and analyse saltmarsh habitats, including the risks to present emissions and wider ecosystem value.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Lord Chamberlain (HM Household)
Nature-based solutions, including blue carbon habitats such as saltmarshes, have an important role to play in preventing biodiversity loss and supporting adaptation and resilience to climate change, alongside their carbon sequestration benefits. Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon.
In April 2022, HM Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. The programme includes mapping of blue carbon stock and sequestration rates in important coastal environments such as saltmarsh habitats, alongside wider ecosystem services which provide societal, ecological and economic benefit. This work will be used to inform marine planning and development decisions.
In the programme’s proof-of-concept year, the Environment Agency (alongside its ongoing role monitoring saltmarsh extent and change), mapped areas within saltmarshes with different capacities to capture and store carbon, bringing the national saltmarsh zonation map up to 96.5% coverage of England’s total saltmarsh habitat.
In addition, Natural England monitors, and assesses the condition of, saltmarsh within sites of special scientific interest.
We are also improving understanding of the impact of climate change on marine and coastal ecosystems. The Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership (MCCIP) synthesises the latest research and evidence on climate change impacts and predicted trends affecting those ecosystems. Established in 2005, MCCIP engages with a wide range of scientific authors and reviewers to produce updates on the evidence base.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring urban brownfield land to be converted into new greenfield land in circumstances where local construction takes place on green belt land.
Answered by Marcus Jones
This Government is committed to making the most of brownfield land in line with our policies in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) which sets out that planning policies and decisions should give substantial weight to the value of using suitable brownfield land within settlements. Redeveloping brownfield sites in urban areas makes best use of existing services and infrastructure, promotes sustainable forms of transport and helps remediate contaminated sites. It is right we should make the most of such sites to minimise the need for development of greenfield land and the countryside.
Government attaches great importance to Green Belt and local planning policies and decisions should enhance and protect Green Belt land. Most Green Belt is rural greenfield land, often containing valuable biodiversity, good farming soils, and attractive landscape. In Green Belt as elsewhere, the NPPF expects local authorities to recognise the importance of the natural environment and the character and beauty of the countryside, and to improve access for sport and recreation. If a local authority cannot avoid loss of Green Belt, it is expected to offset the loss of that land by environmental and access improvements in areas remaining Green Belt.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill sets out planning measures that will support regeneration by enabling more effective use of land, improving land value capture and supporting infrastructure delivery. Reforms, including clarification on the use of compulsory purchase, will make it easier to assemble brownfield land ready for development, whilst locally led Development Corporations will have planning powers to support regeneration, including provision of new green space and other green infrastructure.
Asked by: Chris Green (Conservative - Bolton West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of planning reforms on facilitating access to health and social care services in high street and community settings.
Answered by Marcus Jones
The planning system has an important role in making sure communities have access to the infrastructure and services they need - including health and social care.
The planning changes, introduced through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, will enhance this role and help to ensure new development is accompanied by the right infrastructure, delivered at the right time.
The new single, simplified Infrastructure Levy will aim to capture more land value uplift than the current developer contribution regime, ensuring big developers contribute more and allowing local authorities to use the proceeds for providing infrastructure such as GPs, hospitals, and social care facilities. New infrastructure delivery strategies will also make sure the infrastructure delivered is tailored and targeted towards the needs specific to local areas.