The proposals outlined below cover priority areas for consideration throughout legislation development:
- No new and additional unfunded legislative duties.
- A long-term resourcing and capacity strategy to be published alongside the Bill
No new and additional unfunded legislative duties
We need a legislative framework that reflects the current and future resourcing context of the planning system. To achieve this, all legislative proposals should be grounded in a full and comprehensive understanding of existing resourcing issues. This includes:
- findings from our State of Profession 2023 report which highlighted a contraction of public spending on planning of 16% between 2009 and 2022
- findings from the MHCLG Local Authority planning capacity and skills survey 2023 that highlight severe resourcing issues manifest through recruitment, retention and skills shortages
We will also advocate, where possible, through preparation and passage of the Bill for the need to align and consolidate different consenting regimes, to focus our finite resource as a profession where it is most effective.
A long-term resourcing and capacity strategy published alongside the Bill
Given the severe resourcing issues currently being experienced by local authority planning departments, no legislative proposals will achieve the Government’s growth ambition without resolution. Therefore we propose a comprehensive and long-term skills and resourcing strategy to be published alongside the Bill. Such a plan could include:
- A whole-system resourcing audit of the planning system
- Skills development programme
- Implementation plan for ringfencing of fees
- Resourcing plan for local plan teams
- Innovative solutions to the improve the planning workforce pipeline
A whole-system resourcing audit of the planning system
The performance of the planning system as a whole is reliant on a number of different stakeholders. Therefore to effectively design targeted interventions we need to fully understand resourcing constraints across actors. This includes a full audit of capacity in stakeholders such as the Planning Inspectorate, MHCLG, statutory consultees and the access to internal specialist expertise in local government such as ecologists. A long-term resourcing strategy should follow from this work to introduce multi-year funding settlements to support the establishment of multi-year transformation programmes across stakeholders.
Skills development programme
The MHCLG LPA capacity and skills survey identified a number of existing skills shortages across the country in planning departments, most notably around biodiversity net gain. The RTPI recognises these findings and would further advocate for the development of general skills such as project management, data analysis, digital skills and mentoring in our planning workforce. Impending changes to the planning system will also result in new demands on planners, such as preparing Strategic Development Strategies and the enhanced need to undertake quality and effective community engagement. A skills development programme will set out a route map for our planning workforce as we tackle future challenges and illustrate how learning can be shared across Local Planning Authorities.
Implementation plan for ringfencing of fees
The RTPI acknowledges and welcomes the impending increases to planning fees set out by the draft regulations laid in January to apply from 1st April 2025 (subject to Parliamentary approval). However the RTPI believes that local authority planning departments need to be able to reinvest fee income from planning applications back into their services through ring-fencing. We understand the Government will be bring forward a consultation on ringfencing of planning application fees shortly and we ask that this work is progressed through to an implementation plan as a priority.
Resourcing plan for local plan teams
It is crucial that the Government’s growth agenda is brought forward through a plan-led system. This will ensure certainty for communities whilst joining up approaches to the environment, housing and economic development. However as highlighted in our commissioned research local plans can experience delays when adapting to changes in national planning policy, navigating contentious debates over housing numbers and land use or aligning plans with uncertain transport and other infrastructure investments.
Whilst the RTPI have welcomed recent proposals to improve the speed, coverage and quality of local plans, discussions around the ring-fencing of fees are unlikely to bring in meaningful resource for local plan preparation. The RTPI recognises and welcomes the recently announced Local Plans Delivery Funding 2024/25 but wishes to see this superseded with significant and long-term multi-year funding arrangements.
Innovative solutions to improve the planning workforce pipeline
The Planning and Infrastructure Bill will bring new responsibilities and obligations for delivering planning services. Funding should be allocated to facilitate a competence and capacity building programme enabling the recruitment of Chartered Town Planner apprentices as well as the provision of accredited training courses of education and skill development for existing town planners.
The Chartered Town Planner degree apprenticeship is an L7 apprenticeship which provides an excellent pipeline of qualified town planners into an already under-resourced sector, which will be significantly impacted by reforms in employer access to the new Growth and Skills Levy. Up to 70% of those studying via the Chartered Town Planner apprenticeship work and train in Local Government and without access to levy funding they will not be able to train and enter the planning workforce. The RTPI calls on Government to provide continued access to the Growth and Skills Levy for employers to fund Chartered Town Planner Level 7 apprentices in order to support a pipeline of skilled and well-trained town planners into the sector, delivering the homes and infrastructure that are a top priority for the Government.
Allocated funding for accredited training courses will help to build the capacity of the planning system through entry level workforce developing and gaining the skills, knowledge and experience to competently support existing planning teams in their delivery of reforms brought forward by the Bill.
Investments in the planning workforce should aim to underpin the long-term capacity of planning services and to retain expertise and local knowledge within councils for as long as possible. Direct government intervention should always help reinforce better working conditions in public sector planning and avoid further staff losses in addition to welcoming planners back to public service.