Key Facts

• New clause 46 would place a duty on Ministers to identify and maintain a network of sites for nature.
• At least 30% of the land in England must be protected by 2030.
• Protected site means habitats, species, and other significant features with biodiversity value are strictly protected from harm.
• Natural capital is estimated to be worth £1.2 trillion in the UK.
• The Government committed to protecting 30% of land by 2030.
• A nature recovery Green Paper sought views on improving protected sites.
• There has been a 17% drop in the number of GPs in one constituency over five and a half years.
• On average, each GP serves 403 more patients than they did in 2016.
• In the north of Cumbria, 59% of people with cancer are not seen within two months of diagnosis.
• According to clinical guidelines, any patient who has to travel more than 45 minutes one way for radiotherapy treatment is receiving 'bad practice'.
• New Clause 47 aims to amend the Assets of Community Value (England) Regulations 2012.
• The amendment would require parish churches and associated glebe land to be listed as assets of community value.
• Some 356 Church of England churches are currently under threat for disposal.
• New Clause 48 requires planning applications for sites of two hectares or more, or housing units over one hundred, to be subject to approval by residents in a referendum.
• The local planning authority may not approve the application unless the referendum approves it.
• Applicants can resubmit an application if they have conducted further public consultation and revised the plan accordingly.
• New clause 49 requires referendums for planning permissions granted for sites with over fifty housing units not completed within five years (outline) or three years (full).
• New clause 50 mandates referendums for applications of fifty or more housing units or those failing local affordable housing targets.
• Communities should have a meaningful say in the development of their areas through public votes.
• Land and property sold by local authorities should be prioritised for public services and social housing.
• Teddington police station is an example where residents want to convert a disused building into affordable housing and new premises.
• The original law allowing sale below market value includes obsolete public authorities and lacks inflation adjustment.
• New clause would update the list of public bodies, raise cap from £2 million to £3 million, introduce percentage value difference.
• Each tier 2 local authority must produce an annual report on pubs and on-licensed establishments.
• Central government will fund the costs associated with producing these reports.
• The Secretary of State can issue guidelines for the content of such reports.
• Each tier 2 local authority in England must produce a Public Convenience Plan.
• Plans must be formulated in consultation with local partners and the public.
• The plans must consider current provision levels, demand, gaps, and needs of protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
• Central government must provide funding to cover the costs.
• Local authorities closed one in seven public toilets between 2010 and 2013.
• By 2018, the number of areas without any council-run toilets increased to 37.
• A survey found that 58% of respondents believed there were not enough toilet facilities in their community.
• The Future Homes Standard is set to apply from January 1, 2025.
• Local authorities will have the option of imposing higher standards locally starting from January 1, 2023.
• Only 43,000 out of an intended 600,000 homes were helped by the green homes grant programme.
• New Clause 64 would enable local authorities to select their own electoral system for local elections.
• It proposes that local authorities can elect councillors either by thirds or on an all-out basis.
• The clause suggests various voting systems such as first-past-the-post, alternative vote, supplementary vote, single transferable vote, additional member system.
• The new clause would require the Secretary of State to conduct a review on the effectiveness of business rates in achieving levelling-up objectives.
• The Government previously published a report on the business rates review in the autumn Budget 2021.
• The Government has committed £7 billion worth of measures over five years to reduce the burden of business rates.
• Staveley station on the Lakes line from Oxenholme to Windermere has 41 steps and zero accessibility.
• The Government's Access for All programme has subsidised nearly £400 million since Tim Farron entered Parliament.
• New design standards for accessible railway facilities were introduced in 2015.
• New Clause 68 proposes a review of permitted development rights under Schedule 2 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.
• The review should assess seven specific areas including past effectiveness, quality of housing, impacts on heritage, carbon impact since demolition expansion, cost to local planning authorities, conflicts with national policies, and impact on levelling-up missions.
• The Secretary of State must publish a report of the recommendations within twelve months after the Act comes into force.
• Only a minority of councils employ a head of planning who is part of the senior management team.
• Analysis by the Royal Town Planning Institute shows one in ten local authorities does not fund a head of planning role at all.
• The Scottish Government introduced legislation in 2019 requiring each planning authority in Scotland to have a chief planning officer.
• New Clause 71 would require the Secretary of State to publish a comprehensive resources and skills strategy within 12 months of Royal Assent.
• The clause specifies that the strategy should assess effectiveness, additional resource requirements, funding for five years, skill assessments, and plans to address skill needs.
• The Minister has discussed the issue with the chief planner and considers it deserves detailed consideration without legislative intervention.
• New clause 82 aims to amend the Planning Act 2008.
• It requires the removal of subsection (2)(aa) from section 15 relating to generating stations.
• The Government must publish a statement within one month after the Act comes into force regarding their plan for revising national planning guidance.
• The new clause would place an overarching duty on the Secretary of State, local planning authorities, and those involved in neighbourhood plan-making.
• The clause aims to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation when preparing plans or policies and exercising functions in planning decision-making.
• It includes specific duties related to spatial development strategies, local plans, minerals and waste plans, supplementary plans, neighbourhood plans, and development orders.
• The new clause aims to place an overarching duty on the Secretary of State, local planning authorities, and those involved in neighbourhood plan making to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• There are already significant legal requirements on local authorities to consider climate change.
• The national policy framework requires proactive approaches to climate change.