Emily Thornberry – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Ministry of Justice press release, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary, published on 9 November 2015, what plans the Government has to ensure that redevelopment of prison sites in central London includes an element of social housing.

Brandon Lewis

Over this Parliament the Government is committed to releasing surplus public sector land with capacity for up to 150,000 homes by 2020. It is for local planning authorities, working with developers, to decide the appropriate level of market and affordable housing for each site having regard to the Local Plan and viability.

We strongly support the re-use of brownfield land that is suitable for new housing. The Housing and Planning Bill will require local authorities to have a statutory register of brownfield land suitable for housing, improving the availability and transparency of up-to-date information, as part of our ambition that 90% of suitable brownfield sites have planning permission for housing by 2020.