Recommendation 11

The number of local authorities with up-to-date local plans is declining. As at February 2025, only 86 LPAs–28% of the total of 308 in England– had adopted a local plan in the past five years, while 202–65% of the total–LPAs had plans that were more than five years old.14 This Committee previously reported that, as at December 2018, some 42% of authorities had an up-to-date plan.15 We asked the Department why the situation 8 C&AG’s Report, paras 2.5–2.6 9 Q 37 10 ILA0007 11 Q 38 12 C&AG’s Report, para 1.10 13 C&AG’s Report, para 1.11 14 C&AG’s Report, para 1.13 15 Committee of Public Accounts, Planning and the broken housing market, 103rd Report of Session 2017–19, HC 1744, June 2019, page 5 9 with regard to local plans had not improved over time. It replied that it had given local authorities nearly £30 million to speed up local plan production, ahead of new guidance on plan-making coming into operation in 2026.16