David Simmonds MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Sept 2026 · Urban Housing: Densification · Hansard source

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  Planning permissions for new homes, of which there are already around 1.5 million, are one thing, but getting those units built is another. With Savills reporting that two thirds of London boroughs have seen net zero new housing starts under the Mayor of London, what proposals do the Government have to ensure that units with permission actually get built, rather than concreting over our green belt?

• 2 Sept 2026 · Draft Nature Restoration Levy regulations 2026 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. As the Minister set out in his introduction, there was extensive debate during the Committee on the Bill that has brought this set of regulations to life. There was certainly a lot of cross-party debate about the provision; that reflects the public interest in the impact that development can have on nature and wildlife in particular. Although there was a degree of political disagreement about the policy itself, I think we all shared the objective: having a more functional system. That is clearly the Government’s objective, so we will not seek to divide the Committee this afternoon. However, I have some questions for the Minister. When we debated the issue in Committee, he was clear that in due course this legislation would come forward and there would be an opportunity to look at the points of detail that Members had raised. My first question is about any assessment that he has undertaken of Natural England’s capacity to administer the process. We heard in the Committee evidence sessions from different development organisations that talked about how difficult it sometimes was to get a decision from Natural England because of its lack of capacity when a development had been approved but there remained elements that Natural England needed to sign off. Clearly, this legislation envisages a significant role for Natural England in the planning process—much larger than it currently occupies, and one that it said in evidence to the Committee it would welcome. But making those decisions and the financial underpinning will come at a significant cost, in terms of both people and skills. Will the Minister set out what assessments have been undertaken to ensure that the provision does not lead to further delays through the administration of the levy scheme? The second question relates to a point that we touched on in Committee and is not, as far as I can see, fully addressed in the papers: the treatment of levy payments in kind. We heard examples of when developers had said that, rather than make a cash contribution, they would seek to offer another site where they would create an appropriate wetland habitat, habitat for birds or whatever, which would have a value attached to it. In the normal course of events, the Government already negotiate to determine whether a financial contribution can be made in the form of an asset that has a value, rather than in cash. It is not immediately clear how that type of situation would be handled, especially given that Natural England will be separate from the planning authority making the decision on the scheme. It would be helpful if the Minister told us how the Government envisage dealing with that. Finally, in Committee a point was raised that I do not think the papers entirely address: how the policy will operate where we are talking about cumulative impacts. It is straightforward for a developer that has needed to raze a woodland to demonstrate that it is financing an alternative site, to be managed by Natural England, that will recreate that habitat elsewhere. But what about developers with numerous smaller sites? How will their accumulated contribution be used to ensure that there is appropriate remediation? When those sites are in different planning authorities, how can there be an appropriate negotiation so that things are not held up because one planning authority is trying to determine the impact and another has a separate application, but the contributions from both are key to ensure that the remediation is sufficient?

• 8 Jul 2026 · The Greater Cambridge Development Corporation (Establishment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I am sure that Members will be pleased to know that, because the Opposition agree with the principle underlying the statutory instrument, we will not seek to divide the Committee. The Minister has brought his usual clarity to introducing the order. Although I am sure that there are many questions that could be hotly debated, because there is always discussion about whether measures have the correct boundaries and powers, I would simply like to ask him a few questions that my colleagues have raised. My hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne touched on the impact of local government reorganisation on the proposed development corporation. One issue is that the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 envisages that new mayors will take on many of these development powers. Given that a decision on local government reorganisation structures in greater Cambridge and many other areas is likely to be imminent, what thinking has there been about how the powers of the corporation will be transferred to the new mayoral or combined authority once it comes into being, if at all? The Minister might have already decided that that is not going to happen, but it would be helpful if he clarified how that will work. As the instrument establishes a new development corporation that transfers planning powers that currently sit with two district-level authorities, how does that sit alongside the amended planning regulations that the Minister set out to a Delegated Legislation Committee last week, and on which a deferred Division took place earlier today? In particular, what impact will the changed numbers and the changed responsibility for members have, given that the instrument will aggregate planning responsibilities that are covered by legislation on political balance in each of the constituent authorities? How will that democratic capacity be carried through so that the new authority reflects that legislative requirement? How will the new planning authority that the instrument brings into being handle accumulated section 106 balances? As greater Cambridge is a very economically vibrant part of the world, a significant number of housing, economic development and transport projects are already in train. Many of those involve existing legal agreements that determine if a section 106 or community infrastructure levy contribution will be paid. Some of that will be paid at commencement, and some at milestones during those projects. Given that there will be residents’ expectations about what those contributions will fund, how will the process operate? Excellent as he is, the Minister is not the Minister responsible for local government reorganisation. A brief glance at the map reminds us that greater Cambridge sits at the boundary with numerous authorities, including Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex and Suffolk, that either envisage or have recently gone through a process of local government reorganisation. A good many politicians, including some involved in that, hold the view that the boundaries of the zone will need to be larger if the process is to achieve its potential, particularly given the zone’s location in the Oxford-Cambridge arc. Will the Minister set out his thinking on the future of the zone? How can we provide a sense of certainty to those who have that concern, and to investors who may be wondering about the contribution to the development of new transport links that would attract their business to invest in this location? What is the timeline for that?