There can be no doubt that Angela Rayner wants to make an impact with her new brief. She is leading a Labour charge to build 370,000 new homes a year. But having launched a consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, in advance of the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, will the government take advantage of the best opportunity in a generation to ensure that public transport provision is embedded at the heart of decisions made in the planning system?

As UK housing stock expands and new communities are delivered, it is critical we have joined up, evidence-driven planning policy at all levels of government. This means the public transport implications of where buildings are located must be considered from the beginning of any development in order to ensure new homes are well-connected in a way that maximises economic, social, and environmental benefits. However, local transport plans and mode shift targets do not usually feature on local plans, which focus on housing allocation.