New NPPF and final NMDC

Christopher Pincher Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) made the following statement on 20th July 2021.
“We have today published the response to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and National Model Design Code consultation. The updated NPPF has been published at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework and the response to the consultation is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/national-planning-policy-framework-and-national-model-design-code-consultation-proposals.”
There is a document showing NPPF changes from the 2019 to the 2021 version.
The UK Green Building Council has criticised the NPPF as here and here.
The lawyer Zack Simons has written on five important things that he thinks are missing from the July 2021 NPPF version. London Forum has proposed to MHCLG that a national policy on tall buildings is needed also.
The latest version of the NMDC and associated guidance is available here.
The Government has launched an Office for Place to support local planning authorities in developing design codes and delivering good design.
Robert Jenrick’s speech on all the above emphasised the importance of beauty.
The Place Alliance has carried out research into the design skills, resources and design governance approaches in local authorities. There are other useful reports on their web site in the ‘Place Quality Research’ pages.