The MP expressed concern over the impact of proposed reforms on local democracy. He questioned the ability of ward councillors to call in applications, enforcement issues, and the status of neighbourhood plans. He also asked about the government's timeline for implementing housing projects.

My hon. Friend will know that I am passionately committed to local councils and local democracy, but does he understand the frustration that many of us feel when a planning authority democratically approves a local plan after consulting the community, but then, when an application is made to build homes, the same councillors turn down the application, despite it being consistent with the local plan? Is the Minister’s main objective to try to remove that sort of decision making, which holds up the whole process, and to ensure, in consultation with the Local Government Association and others in local government, that we can find a better way forward, so that we can get the permissions to build the homes that the country badly needs?

As there are 8.5 million people in England with unmet housing need, the Liberal Democrats welcome the plans for further house building. For us, the priority has to be the delivery of social homes. We need 150,000 annually, and we need housing that local people can genuinely afford. On the topic of social housing, I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. Let us be clear: when Whitehall takes planning decisions out of the hands of local councillors, it is taking decisions out of the hands of local people. That is undemocratic, and we would reverse that. Instead, Government should unblock the thousands of permitted homes that are not being built—for example, through “use it or lose it” permissions, by having more than just one extra planning officer per local authority, and by allowing councils to set their fees and to ringfence that income for planning departments. Will the Minister allow councils to set their application fees, and ensure that that funding is ringfenced for planning departments?

When I was leader of Manchester city council, I spent a large percentage of my time trying to right the wrongs of Labour and Conservative Governments in the ’60s and ’70s who had made a similar dash to build many, many houses. I spent my time finding ways to fund the demolition of deck-access housing. As a result, I became convinced that the solution to every problem is not more power to the centre. The people in Chorley know what is best for Chorley, Mr Speaker, just as the people in Manchester know what is best for Manchester. Will my hon. Friend assure me that he will look at the mistakes that were made in the ’60s and ’70s in the dash for building, and ensure that we do not have really bad decisions made from the centre, or the exclusion of local councils?

There is nothing more controversial than Governments seeking to bypass local democracy. I saw that with the desire of the last Government to bypass local democracy by imposing a special development order on RAF Scampton, and I see it now with the many applications to build solar farms that are ostensibly national infrastructure projects. The present planning system was largely created by the Labour Government, and has stood the test of time. Can the Minister assure me that whatever he decides finally, we will not degrade local democracy? It is essential that people join a council, and join a planning committee, knowing that they have real powers and are not under the cosh of Government, or plans imposed by Government.

It is good to see the Government’s recommitment to the importance of local plans. In July this year, Milton Keynes city council went through the important process of developing a local plan. During the election campaign, the former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), visited my home town and described the development of a local plan as ‘reckless’. Will the Minister reassure us that this Government do not believe that local plans are reckless, but consider them necessary for the sustainable delivery of the homes that the country needs?

As the Housing and Planning Minister will be aware, both Dacorum borough council and Three Rivers district council in my constituency are Lib Dem-controlled; Three Rivers has been for over 20 years. Both councils do not have an up-to-date local plan. Can the Minister advise the House about what would happen if the Government imposed a local plan on an authority? Would those decisions be delegated to officers? If so, the process would have no democratic mandate at all.

I welcome the mandatory training. As a former chair of a planning committee, I know that training was part of the process that we implemented, so it is good to see that it will be delivered across the board. We approved some developments multiple times on the same site, such as a maternity block in my constituency, which was then flipped and sold on to another developer. Could the Minister please tell us what steps are being taken to account for land banking or flipping sites via developers?

Until September this year, I was a proud elected member of Stockport council. I made decisions on planning, because in Stockport we decide at ward level what is appropriate for each ward. If I understand the Government’s suggestions correctly, the power to decide for ourselves has been taken away from Stockport council. Could the Minister confirm my understanding?

I welcome the Government’s new ambition on homes and note that the stated aim is to ensure that skilled planning officers in local authorities are given the appropriate amount of trust and empowerment. Unfortunately, that is not the case in Middlesbrough, because the last Tory Government handed over power to the unwanted Middlesbrough Development Corporation, which totally undermined the council’s planning department and instead used a private planning consultancy, at a significantly higher cost to the public purse and with a considerable loss of democratic authority. What assurances can the Minister give me that Middlesbrough will get the trust, the empowerment and, indeed, the affordable housing that it needs, and that local democratic legitimacy will be restored?

There are a remarkable number of contradictions. The Minister says that he wants more democratic oversight while removing the democratic local voice of councillors. He said he is being decisive while also saying he has existing powers that he has not used and that this is not a firm set of proposals. He is not proposing anything around tech and improvements, while the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is giving a big speech this week on exactly that, as the centrepiece of Government change. Why does the Minister think that the way to bring clarity to the transport system and local plan is to tell people to engage with the local plan, then at the same time tell them that if they do so, the people most engaged with that, the democratically elected councillors, will be ignored if they then follow that local plan?

We have had trouble with house building because the speed with which houses are built has been dictated by developers. What we need to see, when planning permission is granted, is that the developer must either use it or lose it. We cannot allow those companies to continue to land bank and use their land only when they are confident that house prices are continuing to rise. Does my hon. Friend intend to deal with those aspects of the housing market?

Speaking as—until recently—the leader of a district council and a long-term member of our planning committee, I do not recognise the issues that the Minister is citing. A lot of the things he says relate to the absence of a local plan. My council has just put in place a new local plan, which is hopefully being approved right now. A better way to get more affordable housing would be to look at the way local authorities can finance the building of those houses and fix that. It would be better to allow local authorities to charge appropriate amounts to cover the costs of the planning, so that they can get the necessary planning officers, and far better to look at how many councils already do mandatory training. I hear from Liberal Democrat colleagues that they all had to do mandatory training, as I did in my council, so that is in place. I would like to see a list of how many councils do not do that. We also need to make water companies statutory consultees so that we do not hit flooding problems. Those changes will help. The problem is not in the planning process. More than 1 million applications have been allowed but not built—

So much of the success of a local plan seems to hinge on co-production with local communities. Will the Minister describe effective models of that?

This working paper appears to have been thought up after a request for options to streamline the planning process. What is the evidence that what planning committees decide is the fundamental obstacle in the planning system? The Minister should produce a comprehensive assessment of all the things that delay house building.

Only 19% of major decisions are made within the statutory framework, causing a housing crisis. Is it time to address these issues head-on?

Has the Minister made any assessment of planning officers moving to work directly for or as consultants to large developers? Should there be registers of interests, gifts, and hospitality for senior planners?

Does the Government’s drive to reform planning ensure speedier decision making for crucial facilities like grassroots football investments?

Does the Minister agree that this measure is designed to fight nimbyism, implying that elected planning committees are acting in a knee-jerk manner?

What work is the Minister undertaking to turn the page on the failure of the last Government, so that we can build desperately needed social housing?

Labour-led Basildon borough council’s new draft plan proposes 27,000 properties, including 4,300 in Wickford. Why is Labour trying to neuter local planning committees of democratically elected councillors?

What more can we do to ensure that home ownership is open to everyone in my constituency?

Can the Minister reassure me that proposals will not dilute the importance of local knowledge in making critical decisions about flooding?

Young families in Teesside are desperate to get on the housing ladder, yet last year the number of new homes given planning permission fell to a 10-year low. Can the Minister reassure the House of the steps that he will take to ensure that homes are built and that we get Britain building again?

The Deputy Prime Minister said that this country has plenty of houses. Can the Minister explain why the Government are imposing an 82% increase in the housing target for Bromsgrove district?

Will the training of planning committee members cover matters such as renewable energy, floodplains and renewable transport to ensure that new planning applications do not negatively impact the environment?

The reform represents a loss of control when local communities are desperate for more control. Will he look at doing that in the coming days?

Does he agree that it is interesting to see Conservative Members taking an entirely different approach, opposing sensible changes that would support growth in this country and sticking with chaos in the planning system?

The Minister speaks of mandatory training for councillors, but it has been tried before. Can the Minister assure us that they would still have discretion to turn down applications?

Could the Minister set out in more detail how he sees these plans interacting with processes around master planning and the negotiation of planning conditions?

Does the Minister accept that one new planning authority simply will not cut it?

Will the Minister consider joining me on a visit to see how the Government could learn from Ebbsfleet’s lessons?

Is it not the case that the Government have realised that the mandatory top-down targets they came up with are now unachievable, and that in their panic they have come up with a policy that will undermine local democratic voices?

Some 47% of casework relates to housing, necessitating the construction of 1.5 million new homes to address the crisis. Councillors often oppose development due to lack of infrastructure; what reassurances can be given that necessary infrastructure will accompany house building?

Local authorities do not hinder house building but land banking does. In Bath and north-east Somerset, 2,000 homes have received permission without construction; should the Government focus on addressing this issue rather than threatening local democracy?

Residents complain about the lengthy process from plan approval to completion. How can these plans be expedited for Harlow constituents?

Experienced Labour Members know that replacing local planning committees with planning officers undermines democratic decision-making. Can planning officers effectively replace councillors on important matters?

Tonbridge and Malling borough council has allowed speculative development due to lack of local plan. Do firm timetables for robust plans that consider local concerns need training for appeals?

National landscapes compress available area for housing targets in flood-prone villages. How do these reforms help such areas?

What discussions have been had with devolved Administrations regarding UK-wide planning reform to address affordable housing and economic growth?