PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Planning (18 August 2021)

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to (a) address the planning skills shortage and (b) ensure that councils have adequate resources for effective implementation of planning policy.

Asked by:
Feryal Clark (Labour)

The Planning White Paper commits to developing a comprehensive resources and skills strategy for the planning sector to support the implementation of our reforms - so that, as we implement our reforms, local planning authorities are equipped to create great communities through effective civic engagement and proactive plan-making.

Through our proposed reforms, local planning authorities will be able to focus on what they do best; plan for the long term development of their area, improve the quality of new development, and focus more on those large and special sites that need the most consideration. We want to reduce the amount of resource-consuming bureaucracy and streamline or abolish assessments and other requirements that are burdensome and slow-down planning departments. Part of achieving this will be through modernising the planning process, so that routine tasks are automated and decision-making is improved by better access to data and digital services. This will allow local authorities to focus attention on plan making and place shaping.

We will continue to work with local planning authorities as we develop our proposals.

Answered by:
Christopher Pincher (Independent)
6 September 2021