Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 59
59
Accepted
Shortage of planning professionals undermines local authorities' effective planning system functioning.
Conclusion
The shortage of planning professionals in local authorities is undermining the planning system’s ability to function effectively. Planning officers are unable to thoroughly consider applications within statutory timeframes and are unable to adequately pre-consult. This capacity gap compromises the quality, transparency and timeliness of planning decisions. This is problematic, as Natural England has gaps in its own expertise and relies on knowledge from local authorities. (Conclusion, Paragraph 202)
Government Response Summary
The government agrees that ecological expertise is critical in the planning system and outlines the actions it is already taking through additional investment and the Planning Capacity and Capability Programme to strengthen skills across the system.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
100. The Government agrees that ecological expertise is critical within the planning system. We recognise the challenges local planning authorities face with capacity and skills across the board and are taking forward significant action to strengthen skills across the system. 101. At the 2025 Budget, the Government announced £48 million of additional investment to boost planning capacity across the public sector this Parliament. This includes new routes into planning for both graduates and experienced professionals and targeted support to help authorities develop the specialist skills needed to implement reforms effectively. 102. More broadly, MHCLG’s established Planning Capacity and Capability Programme is already supporting local planning authorities with ecology through recruitment, skills development and specialist training. In the 2025–2026 financial year this includes: • around £2.8m provided to the PAS in 2025–26 to deliver tailored training, peer learning and guidance, ensuring planners are well prepared to operate in a reformed system. • around £7m to ‘Pathways to Planning’, delivered by the LGA, which permits councils and statutory consultees to use their educational bursaries to fund an ecology master’s degree. The scheme also provides workshops on ecological issues (such as BNG and nutrient neutrality). • around £2m to Public Practice, a social enterprise in the built environment sector, which uses its funding to attract and transition skilled built environment professionals from outside the public sector into local authorities (including from landscape architecture, ecology and environmental science backgrounds) 103. The Government has also provided additional funding to environmental arm’s-length bodies with statutory consultee roles in planning, including Natural England, the Environment Agency and the Forestry Commission. This is enabling the recruitment of additional ecologists and environmental planners, alongside comprehensive improvements to their training, skills packages and digital systems, ensuring timely and expert environmental advice to local authorities. 104. In light of these substantial investments to strengthen capacity across the system, the Government does not consider that establishing separate ecological resource hubs is currently necessary. We will, however, continue to work closely with the sector to monitor capacity and keep this position under review.