Question
The increase in starts is welcome, but the Government’s package of reforms was designed to increase consents. The most recent quarterly figures show that although consent applications are down, the rate of granted consents remains high at 88%—that figure is over 90% when councillors are involved in making the planning decisions. Does that not show that taking away powers to make decisions on major applications—those of over 150 homes—from councillors through the NPPF has made no difference whatsoever to the number of consents? Will the Government give those powers back to councillors, who support over 90% of applications when they come to committee?
Answer
I think the hon. Gentleman is talking about the national scheme of delegation. Those powers were only commenced on Saturday, so he is a bit premature in saying that they have had no impact.
Verdict: AMBER (33/100)
The minister explained that the policy in question is the national scheme of delegation and said the powers only came into effect on Saturday, so it is too early to judge their impact. That part of the question received a direct response, though it gave no figures or assessment of consent numbers. The reply did not say whether the Government will return the power to councillors, so that part of the question went unanswered. The person who asked would likely need to submit a follow-up to get the missing information.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is the department's view on whether moving decisions on major applications (those of over 150 homes) away from councillors through the NPPF has affected the number of planning consents granted | Addressed | Direct | The minister identifies the policy as the national scheme of delegation, which is the same mechanism the question describes, and gives the concrete fact that the powers only commenced on Saturday, so it is premature to claim they have had no impact. This states the department's view on the question's impact, though it stops short of a substantive assessment of consent numbers. |
| Will the Government return to councillors the power to determine major planning applications of over 150 homes | Not Addressed | Generic | The reply never says whether the Government will return the power to councillors, and nothing in it addresses a future change to the delegation arrangements. |