Where a road is offered for adoption, the Highways Authority will assess whether the road has been constructed to the correct standard and will make a decision whether or not to adopt the road.

The maintenance of a highway is a significant financial burden and a local highway authority must be satisfied that any roads it chooses to adopt, are sufficiently robust and built to the correct standards, to ensure its risks and liabilities are reduced so far as practicable.

The Department for Transport has issued an advice note to councils to help them navigate some of the complexities surrounding new developments and the adoption, maintenance and upkeep of roads. This includes recommending early engagement with the relevant highway authority, to help facilitate an easier adoption process. The advice note is available here.

Mr Speaker, I would like to start by apologising on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for his absence from the Chamber. As I believe you and the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) are aware, he has a family reason that means he is unable to be here today.

The Government are taking action to protect communities from inappropriate development through measures in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill and through our proposals for updating the national policy planning framework, which we launched for consultation at the end of last year. Those proposals include giving increased weight to plans in decision making, removing the requirement to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply where a plan is up to date and strengthening the protections from speculative development for areas that have a neighbourhood plan that meets its housing requirement.

What steps he is taking to help communities protect themselves from potentially unsuitable development proposals.

The Minister is well aware that communities across the Witham constituency, including many villages such as Hatfield Peverel, Tollesbury, Tiptree and Black

Notley, have been subject to speculative developments, some of which have gone through on appeals from builders in particular or have been approved by councils concerned about their five-year land supply. What assurances can she and the Government give my constituents, who are fighting against many speculative developers and developments, that the Government’s planning policies are on the side of those communities?

Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to everyone else.

The consultation on the NPPF before Christmas included quite a lot of flexibilities and potential for changes on the standard methodology that would be the basis for calculating the housing needs assessment, but the one area where there did not seem to be much flexibility was the urban uplift. Can the Minister justify the 35% uplift and set out how it has been calculated for each of the urban areas? Secondly, in cases such as that of Sheffield, where the urban uplift will force development on to greenfield sites and the green belt, will there be flexibility so that the extra amount from the urban uplift does not have to be applied where it can do real damage to local communities?

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the best way to stop building housing in unsuitable areas is to build more on brownfield sites across the country? Is it not therefore all the more tragic that under the current Labour Mayor of London, house building has gone off a cliff because he remains obsessed with unrealistic targets for social housing in every development, stopping good projects from going ahead and depriving the people of this city and this country of houses for sale and for market rent, and of social housing as well?

Happy new year, Mr Speaker.

York is becoming unrecognisable as developers are building not only luxury student accommodation but luxury apartments across our city when we desperately need social and affordable homes. That is leading to the highest price rises in housing across the country—a staggering 23.1% last year—pricing out my constituents. How will the Minister ensure that local authorities just build housing according to need rather than the want of developers?

The Government is clear that we must tackle the practice of 'land banking', where developers buy up land and leave it undeveloped for years, with no sign of building work taking place.

It is completely wrong that land with planning permission is left idle and undeveloped, with developers waiting for prices to rise and putting the profits of investors above the needs of local communities and families, who are deprived of desperately needed housing.

Through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, we will be taking new powers to fix ‘land banking’ and slow build out.

First, the Bill will make developers commit to a build out trajectory and report annually to councils on their progress so they can be held directly to account. Second, when builders have missed their deadlines, our new streamlined approach to commencement notices will mean that councils can compel developers to ‘use or lose’ the permission. Third, councils will have new powers to block planning proposals from builders who fail to deliver.

Together, these measures will tackle slow build out - making sure that the market provides the new homes that communities need, rather than only lining the pockets of developers and investors.

We want to ensure that the planning system creates more beautiful and sustainable buildings and places. We underlined this in the updates to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the publication of the National Model Design Code, published in July 2021. The NPPF asks all local councils to set design standards in design guides and codes that reflect local character and design preferences. The NPPF also requires that local councils take account of heritage assets and the desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness, when determining planning applications.

In addition, the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is seeking to strengthen the requirement for the use of local design codes so that clear rules are set locally about the design of new development. The delivery of sustainable development which protects and enhances our natural and built environment is, therefore, at the heart of the existing NPPF and underpins our ambitions for how the planning system – both national and local policy and decisions – are strengthened through the Bill and future updates to the NPPF. However, real progress is already being made through the Government's National Design Guide and National Model Design Code, which provides local councils with a toolkit to help them set standards that take account of local history, culture and heritage, based on effective community engagement. The National Model Design Code sets out the importance of respecting local history and character when planning for new development, as well as encouraging the use of materials that reflect the local character and identity. We are now working with a number of local authorities in the preparation of locally developed design codes through our Pathfinder programme and sharing the learning as they progress.

We cannot have houses without services and infrastructure. The national planning policy framework recognises the need for mixed-use developments, including local facilities and transport networks. In addition, the national design guide and national model design recognise the importance of mixed-use development in creating sustainable, active and vibrant places.

What steps he is taking to support mixed-use developments.

The Skegness Gateway project is a 1,000-home development, but it is also home—thanks to the levelling-up fund—to a new college for Skegness and, if all goes well, it could be a significant boon to local NHS services. Will the Minister join me in welcoming the huge contribution of the Sanderson family, some of whom are in the Gallery? Will she also join me in welcoming the prospect of Departments working together, breaking down the silos to deliver the maximum possible potential for such projects all in one hit and at the first opportunity?

During the height of the Pandemic holding planning inquiries virtually ensured those cases progressed without undue delay during lockdowns. Since September 2021 the Planning Inspectorate has moved to a 'mixed model' where the appointed Inspector on a case decides the most appropriate format for hearing oral evidence, taking the views of the parties on the case into consideration. In practice this often means holding some of the inquiry in person and complementing it with virtual elements. Given the wide range of factors that influence the timing and lengths of inquiries and the mix of formats used, it has not been possible so far to separate out a specific link between format and timescales for decision.

Local planning authorities are required to publish all planning applications on their planning register and to undertake a formal period of public consultation of no less than 21 days, prior to deciding an application. Where an application straddles the boundaries of two or more local planning authorities, publicity should be undertaken separately in each local planning authority area. Local planning authorities will need to agree between themselves whether publicity beyond the statutory minimum in each area is appropriate. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will increase the opportunities for involvement in the planning system to ensure development is brought forward in a way that works best for local people. Alongside traditional forms of engagement, digital engagement will remove barriers to engagement and provide new opportunities for local people to engage. We are clear that communities must have a say on development that affects them and they will retain the right to comment on planning applications.

The Government expects all developers to do the right thing, irrespective of whether they have signed the building safety repairs pledge. We are in ongoing discussions with several developers who have not signed the pledge and will invite them to sign the finalised self-remediation contract.

We have made clear that developers who fail to do the right thing face significant commercial consequences. In August, we made commencement regulations that are an important step towards giving Ministers powers to stop developers who fail to do the right thing from commencing developments for which they have planning permission and from being granted building control sign-off.

The Residential Property Developer Tax will apply to companies that make trading profits from residential property development activities and are part of a group that is generating relevant profits in excess of £25 million.

This means the tax will not apply to companies that construct properties to hold as investments.

It will, however, apply to companies that make trading profits from selling residential property, including where the purchaser is a member of the same group or is acquiring the property for investment purposes.

As with all other taxes, the Government will keep this under review.

The Residential Property Developer Tax will apply to companies that make trading profits from residential property development activities and are part of a group that is generating relevant profits in excess of £25 million.

This means the tax will not apply to companies that construct properties to hold as investments.

It will, however, apply to companies that make trading profits from selling residential property, including where the purchaser is a member of the same group, or is acquiring the property for investment purposes.

As with all other taxes, the Government will keep this under review.

The Residential Property Developer Tax will apply to companies that make trading profits from residential property development activities and are part of a group that is generating relevant profits in excess of £25 million.

This means the tax will not apply to companies that construct properties to hold as investments.

It will, however, apply to companies that make trading profits from selling residential property, including where the purchaser is a member of the same group, or is acquiring the property for investment purposes.

As with all other taxes, the Government will keep this under review.

The Residential Property Developer Tax will raise at least £2 billion over the next decade. This will help to fund the £5 billion package of funding that was announced in February 2021 for the removal of unsafe cladding from the highest risk buildings.

The Government has designed the Residential Property Developer Tax in a way that will minimise any detrimental impact on housing supply, including the supply of affordable housing.

In particular, taxing profits will help to ensure contributions are proportionate to economic returns and will help to minimise distortions that might come from alternative tax bases.

The new tax will not affect developers’ planning obligations, including obligations under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.