Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 25 June 2026.
Simon Opher
Labour, Stroud
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to improve the enforceability of s106 agreements.
Matthew Pennycook
Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Section 106 agreements are legal agreements. Local planning authorities may take enforcement action in respect of any breach of the obligations contained within them. Enforcement is at the discretion of the local planning authority and it is therefore for them to determine whether enforcement action is appropriate in each case.
Enforcement action may include applying to the court for an injunction through section 106(5) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. This would allow the local planning authority to prevent the construction or occupation of further dwellings until certain infrastructure defined in the section 106 agreement has been delivered. Alternatively, the local planning authority may enter the land to complete the works and then seek to recover the costs.
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.