The government has published the following response to the consultation titled "Changes to the current planning system - Consultation on changes to planning policy and regulations" (which ran for 8 weeks from 06/08/2020 until 01/10/2020):

• April 2021: Government response to the First Homes proposals in "Changes to the current planning system" (pdf print version of HTML webpage) (link).

Note: The above response document covers the part of the above consultation relating to First Homes.

Notes:

• The "Introduction" at the start of the above response document includes the following information:
  - "On 6 August 2020, the government published Changes to the current planning system. The consultation paper set out 4 policy proposals to improve the effectiveness of the current system:
  >>> changing the standard method for assessing local housing need, to plan for the delivery of 300,000 new homes a year and plan for more homes in the right places
  >>> securing First Homes, sold at a discount to market price for first time buyers, including key workers, through developer contributions
  >>> temporarily lifting the small sites threshold below which developers do not need to contribute to affordable housing, to up to 40 or 50 units, to support SME builders as the economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  >>> extending the current Permission in Principle to major development so that landowners and developers can secure the principle of development for housing on sites without having to work up detailed plans first.".
  - "The consultation closed on 1 October 2020. The government responded to the first of the 4 policy proposals (changes to the ‘standard method’ for assessing local housing need) on 16 December 2020.".
  - "This document sets out the government’s response to the second of the 4 policy proposals, securing First Homes, which formed questions 8-16 of the consultation. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government will lay a Written Ministerial Statement before Parliament, in due course, which will outline changes to national planning policy in order to ensure First Homes are built. These changes will take effect on a date to be specified.".
• The "Proposed changes to support the delivery of First Homes through the planning system" section within the above response document includes the following information relating to First Homes:
  - "The government has listened carefully to the feedback on our proposals, through the formal consultation and direct discussions with stakeholders. This response takes all this feedback into account and changes to the planning system in order to ensure First Homes are delivered will be announced via Written Ministerial Statement in due course. In the interim period we will work towards producing planning practice guidance for developers and local authorities to better understand how to implement these new requirements.".
• Note: In addition, the "Small sites and Permission in Principle" section within the above response document includes the following information relating to the small sites threshold:
  - "The government consulted on raising the small sites threshold in order to assess if it was necessary in the economic circumstances to provide additional support to SME builders. We have carefully considered the consultation feedback and the situation in the housing market. On balance, we do not consider this measure to be necessary at this stage, particularly in light of the broader way in which the sector has responded to the challenges of the pandemic and the other measures we have available to support SMEs. We therefore do not think any change to existing policy is currently needed.".
  - "We will continue to monitor the market closely and will speak to SME representatives about the barriers they face and the kind of support we can offer them, but there are no plans to raise the small sites threshold at this stage. As such, paragraph 63 of the National Planning Policy Framework, will continue to apply. This sets out that provision of affordable housing should not be sought for residential developments that are not major developments, other than in designated rural areas (where policies may set out a lower threshold of 5 units or fewer). For housing, a major development is a development where 10 or more homes will be provided, or the site has an area of 0.5 hectares or more. The government response to the consultation will be published in due course.".
• Note: In addition, the "Small sites and Permission in Principle" section within the above response document includes the following information relating to Permission in Principle:
  - "We are carefully considering the response to the fourth policy proposal in the Changes to the current planning system consultation: in doing so, we will assess whether extending Permission in Principle is best addressed in the context of our proposals for wider reform.".

Other sources of information:

• March 2020: Planning for the Future - Policy Paper (pdf) (link).
  - Note: For more information about the above document, please view this post.
• August 2020: Government press release - "Launch of Planning for the future consultation to reform the planning system" (link).
• August 2020: Changes to the current planning system - Consultation on changes to planning policy and regulations (pdf) (link).
  - Note: For more information about the above document, please view this post.