§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what advice he offers local authorities on the operation of section 106 development gains, with particular regard to the amount of land allocated to social and affordable housing. [136750]
§ Keith HillNational policy for England is set out in Circular 1/97 on Planning Obligations (January 1997) which sets out guidelines on the use of planning obligations. Broadly, it requires planning obligations to be: necessary; relevant; directly related to proposed development; fairly and reasonably related in scale and kind to the proposed development; and reasonable in all other respects. The Circular only gives a general indication of what might be reasonable, since establishing the relationship between a particular planning benefit and an individual development must be a matter of judgement, exercised in the light of local circumstances, rather than an issue for detailed national presrciption.
National policy for England on planning for affordable housing is currently provided in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 on Housing (March 2000) and Circular 6/98 (April 1998) on Planning and Affordable Housing. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has recently proposed changes to this policy framework and these are set out in the consultation document `Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing'(July 2003). These changes will be accompanied by practical advice on what works well and where.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the Government's proposals to modify the section 106 planning procedure. [136896]
§ Keith HillI refer the hon. Member to the Parliamentary Statement given on 6 November 2003,Official Report, column 39WS.