The Minister of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Mr Christopher Pincher MP, acknowledged the importance of the green belt and expressed the government's commitment to protecting it. He highlighted that the current planning system has been in place since 1948 and noted that the Prime Minister reaffirmed this commitment during his Conservative Party conference speech last month. The green belt covers 12.4% of England's land mass, with St Albans having over 81% of its area within it. Pincher emphasised strict protections for the green belt under national planning policies and mentioned that proposals to release land from the green belt require consultation with local people and rigorous examination by a qualified planning inspector. He also noted that any loss of green-belt land must be offset with environmental and access standards on remaining land. The Minister reiterated the importance of using brownfield land for development alongside protecting the green belt. Additionally, he referred to the Environment Act 2021's biodiversity net gain requirement as a condition of most new developments. Pincher highlighted the standard method for assessing local housing need introduced in 2018 and stated that 9% of authorities have plans made to the 2004 standard, including St Albans which has not had an up-to-date plan since 1994. He committed to supporting brownfield regeneration with £5 billion available to Homes England for builders and further initiatives announced recently. The Minister concluded by reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting green spaces.