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Written question asked by Lord Borwick (Conservative) on Tuesday, 24 April 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 9 May 2018. It was answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative) on Wednesday, 2 May 2018 on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Housing: Construction

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time planning officers they estimate will be required to deliver their target of building an average 300,000 new homes in England per year; and how many are actually employed at present.

Answer

The department does not hold data on the number of planning officers who are currently employed, on either full-time or part-time bases. It therefore has no reliable evidence base from which to estimate the extra number needed for building an average of 300,000 homes in England per year.

The department has supported local planning authorities by introducing a 20 per cent increase in planning application fees and providing £ 15.8 million through the Planning Delivery Fund in order to ensure that local planning authorities have the resources and capacity they need.

It also provides support for the Royal Town Planning Institute Future Planners bursary scheme, which has run since 2015/16 and supports students on accredited postgraduate conversion degrees to pursue a career in planning. The department recently announced its continuing financial support for the scheme over the next three financial years, 2017/18 to 2019/20.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL7203
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Construction Housing Planning authorities Staff
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk