Call for Evidence

Aim of the inquiry

The House of Lords Select Committee on Land Use in England was appointed in January 2022. It is chaired by Lord Cameron of Dillington. The Committee is required to agree its report by the end of November 2022.

Over the course of its inquiry, the Committee will be undertaking a wide-ranging study of all aspects of land use in England, the policies which govern them, the short and longer-term outlook for how land use may change and may need to change, and the most appropriate response to these changes. Within this study we will be considering the role of the key drivers of land use change including climate change, biodiversity decline, population and economic growth, and the extent of their influence.

Most importantly, the Committee will be looking at how the Government can best develop a strategy to plan for these changes, and is also keen to hear proposed solutions to current and emerging challenges. The Committee has a particular focus on integration of policies and on planning for multifunctional land use, and would especially welcome contributions on these themes.

This is a public call for written evidence to be submitted to the Committee. The deadline is 4.00pm on Tuesday 26 April 2022. You can follow the progress of the inquiry on Twitter @LordsLandCom.

All are welcome to respond to the Call for Evidence and there are no barriers to making a submission. Respondents are not obliged to respond to every question listed, and so may confine their response to their particular areas of interest or expertise as they find appropriate.

Diversity comes in many forms and hearing a range of different perspectives means that committees are better informed and can more effectively scrutinise public policy and legislation. Committees can undertake their role most effectively when they hear from a wide range of individuals, sectors or groups in society affected by a particular policy or piece of legislation. We encourage anyone with experience or expertise of an issue under investigation by a select committee to share their views with the committee, with the full knowledge that their views have value and are welcome.

 Questions

The Committee is happy to receive submissions on any issues related to the subject of the inquiry but would particularly welcome submissions on the questions listed below. You do not need to address every question. Respondents may interpret the questions broadly and provide as much information as possible. Instructions on how to submit evidence are set out at the end of this document.

Pressures and challenges 

1. What do you see as the most notable current challenges in relation to land use in England? How might these challenges best be tackled? How do you foresee land use in England changing over the long term? How should competing priorities for land use be managed?

2. What are the key drivers of land use change which need to be planned for, and how should they be planned for? What is the role of multifunctional land use strategies in implementing these plans?

3. How might we achieve greater and more effective coordination, integration and delivery of land use policy and management at a central, regional, local and landscape level?

Farming and land management

4. What impacts are changes to farming and agricultural practices, including food production, likely to have on land use in England? What is the role of new technology and changing standards of land management?

5. What impact are the forthcoming environmental land management schemes likely to have on agriculture, biodiversity and wellbeing? What do you see as their merits and disadvantages?

Nature, landscape and biodiversity

6. What do you see as the key threats to nature and biodiversity in England in the short and longer term, and what role should land use policy have in tackling these?

7. What are the merits and challenges of emerging policies such as nature-based solutions (including eco-system and carbon markets), local nature recovery strategies and the biodiversity net gain requirement? Are these policies compatible, and how can we ensure they support one another, and that they deliver effective benefits for nature?

Environment, climate change, energy and infrastructure

8. How will commitments such as the 25-year environment plan and the net zero target require changes to land use in England, and what other impacts might these changes have?

9. How should land use pressures around energy and infrastructure be managed?

Land use planning

10. What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of the existing land use planning system and associated frameworks in England? How effectively does the system manage competing demands on land, including the Government’s housing and development objectives? What would be the merits of introducing a formal spatial planning framework or frameworks, and how might it be implemented?

11. What lessons may be learned from land use planning frameworks in the devolved nations and abroad, and how might these lessons apply to England?

Conclusion

12. Which organisations would be best placed to plan and decide on the allocation of land for the various competing agendas for land use in England, and how should they set about doing so?

ANNEX: Guidance for submissions

Submitting written evidence

Written submissions may be submitted online, as a Word document, using the written submission form available at  https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/2588. This page also provides guidance on submitting evidence. All submissions made through the written submission form should receive an on-screen confirmation once the evidence has been submitted.

Getting in touch

If you have difficulty making a written submission on the online portal, please contact the Committee staff at hllanduse@parliament.uk. If you do not have access to a computer, mobile phone or internet, you may telephone the Committee at 0207 219 6612 or submit a paper copy of your evidence to: Clerk to the Select Committee on Land Use in England, Committee Office, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW.

Guidelines for written evidence

Short, concise submissions are preferred, and submissions longer than 6 pages should include a one-page summary. Please ensure the submission is free of logos and signatures. Paragraphs should be numbered, and submissions should be dated.

Submissions should make a note of the author’s name, and of whether the author is acting in an individual or corporate capacity. Submissions with a university or college address should make clear whether they are submitted in an individual capacity or on behalf of the university or college.

You should be careful not to comment on individual cases currently before a court of law or matters in respect of which court proceedings are imminent. If you anticipate such issues arising, you should discuss with the Clerk to the Committee how this might affect your submission.

The Committee cannot accept anything that has not been prepared specifically in response to this call for evidence, or that has been published elsewhere.

Accepting evidence

Submissions become the property of the Committee, which will decide whether to accept them as evidence. Once you have received acknowledgement via email that your submission has been accepted as evidence, you may publicise or publish it yourself, but in doing so you must indicate that it was prepared for the Committee. If you publish your evidence separately, you should be aware that you will be legally responsible for its content.

Publication

Evidence that is accepted by the Committee may be published online at any stage; when it is published it becomes subject to parliamentary copyright and is protected by parliamentary privilege. It will normally appear on the Committee’s website and will be deposited in the Parliamentary Archives.

Personal contact details will be removed from evidence before publication but will be retained by the Committee Office and used for specific purposes relating to the Committee’s work, for instance to seek additional information.

In certain circumstances the Committee may be prepared to accept submissions but not to publish them, in whole or in part. If you would like to submit evidence on this basis you should first discuss this with the Clerk to the Committee.

Oral evidence

Persons who submit written evidence, and others, may be invited to give oral evidence. Oral evidence is usually given in public and broadcast online; transcripts are produced and published online. Persons invited to give oral evidence will be notified separately of the procedure to be followed and the topics likely to be discussed.

Further details

Substantive communications to the Committee about the inquiry should be addressed through the Clerk, whether or not they are intended to constitute formal evidence to the Committee.

You may follow the progress of the inquiry at https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/583/land-use-in-england-committee/