In the Government’s 2024 election manifesto, it stated “food security is national security … we will champion British farming whilst protecting the environment … we will introduce a landuse framework and make environment land management schemes work for farmers and nature.”

By explicitly including the Land Use Framework in its manifesto, the Government has reaffirmed the commitment to its publication, so we should expect it to be delivered in due course, likely in the next few months.

Beyond confirming that the Framework is still scheduled for delivery, the new Government has given few details about the form it will take or how it will function in practice. Despite the limited information, some details can be predicted from the Government’s other plans.

1. Firstly, by including the reference to the Land Use Framework in a section about agriculture and food production, the new Government has indicated that a significant focus of its Framework will be food security and the context of agriculture in particular. However, the details in the manifesto indicate that environmental farming remains a significant priority, so there is likely to be an element seeking to balance the role of nature-friendly or otherwise environmentally-beneficial actions within the broader role of agriculture in producing food.
2. Secondly, the Government’s manifesto places a significant degree of emphasis on its plans to create Great British Energy and to work towards a cleaner UK energy system within the next few years. Already, the Net Zero Secretary has ended the effective ban on onshore wind, so this trajectory is only likely to continue over the course of the current Parliament. Whether or not energy production is explicitly included in the Land Use Framework, it is likely to be a prominent consideration in how the Government views the use of land.
3. Thirdly, another of the Government’s manifesto commitments is to “get Britain building again”. Although this is neither one of the Government’s ‘missions’ nor a key priority, it was a significant focus of their campaign and planning reform has already been one of the biggest discussion areas of the early weeks of the new Government. Housebuilding in particular, and infrastructure development as a secondary concern, are likely to be significant priorities for the Government when it comes to the use of land. While these may not be included in the Land Use Framework itself, the Framework is likely to be developed in a way that does not interfere with the ability of developers to proactively resume the process of housebuilding and development.

Each of these are plausible factors that may influence the development of the Land Use Framework, though the specifics will remain uncertain until the Government commits to its publication.

It is also possible that, due to the long process of development under the previous Government, the Land Use Framework does not fully reflect these priorities when it is first published, with further changes or reforms made subsequently.