Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 22 June 2026.
Andrew Snowden
Opposition Assistant Whip (Commons)
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made by the New Towns Taskforce in identifying locations for new settlements.
Peter Lamb
Labour, Crawley
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress he has made on considering the recommendations of the Sir Mike Lyons New Town Commission report from September 2025.
Matthew Pennycook
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them.
On 28 September 2025, the government published the independent New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response to that report. Both can be found on gov.uk here.
Between 23 March and 19 May 2026, the government consulted on the proposed New Towns Programme and its environmental implications. That consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
We are currently analysing the feedback received and will publish our response in due course.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
