asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they intend to implement the proposals outlined in the Barker Review of Land Use Planning, which was commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to allow housing and commercial development in green belt areas; and whether they intend to limit local government to a consultative role in such planning decisions; and [HL657]

What are their plans for the future for existing town centres when green belt development is permitted; and how they intend to cope with town centre blight; and [HL659]

Whether they have carried out any environmental evaluation in respect of the assessment of the Barker Review of Land Use Planning on the green belt as “low-value agricultural land with little landscape quality and limited public access”; and, if so, whether they will publish the results; and [HL660]

Whether the proposals outlined in the Barker Review of Land Use Planning to allow development in the green belt contrasts with the recent Policy Planning Statement 14 pronouncement in Northern Ireland by Lord Rooker, which proposes a presumption against rural development. [HL661]

The Government believe that the green belt plays a vital role in the planning system that must continue. The Government will set out the response to Kate Barker's report later this year.