Agenda item

Councillor Martin Wale submitted the following questions under Procedure Rule 10:-

Due to the continuing adverse publicity, both in the local and national media in relation to our planning service and its performance, I request that a VERBAL answer be given to Council on the following-

(A)          The establishment for the Planning Service.

(B)          The current number of Planners, not including agency.

(C)          In the last year how many Planners have resigned/retired.

(D)          What exit enquiries are made of resigning Officers.

(E)       Approximately, the current caseload of each Planner.

Supplementary question - what steps are being taken in relation to any shortage and overloading of Officers re casework and what is the Councils position in relation to being taken into ‘special measure’.

Councillor Tony Lock, Portfolio Holder for Protecting Core Services provided the following response:-

It is fair to say that there have been some difficulties in our planning service over the last 18 months, and you will have received an update from the Director for Service Delivery, where she acknowledged this and set out what has been done so far, and future plans. We want to deliver a great service for our residents and we are doing all we can to support the service and team to put in place sustainable solutions.

To answer the specific questions raised –

(A)  The establishment for the Planning Service.

There are currently the following roles on the establishment - 1 Lead Specialist for Built Environment, 12 Specialists, 13 Case Officers, 2 Graduate roles

(B)  The current number of Planners, not including agency.

There are currently 1 interim Lead Specialist for Built Environment, 11 Specialists, 12 Case Officers, 2 Graduate roles

(C)  In the last year how many planners have resigned/retired.

There have been the following leavers:

1 x Case Officer

1 x Specialist

1 x Lead Specialist

There are a further 2 Specialists who have resigned but have not yet left the organisation.

(D)   What exit enquiries are made of resigning Officers.

Before someone leaves an exit interview form is sent to the line manager prior to the leaving date, where a meeting is conducted. The form is then sent to the Chief Executive’s office for the Service Director/Chief Executive to view along with the People Team. There have been occasions where the employee has requested that the exit interview is conducted by an alternative person to the line manager, which we would then make appropriate arrangements for.

(E)   Approximately, the current caseload of each Planner.

The caseload assigned to each existing officer varies greatly and the average, as measured from statistics in July, indicates 56 per officer. This excludes enforcement cases, as these are managed in a different way (not per officer)

Supplementary question - what steps are being taken in relation to any shortage and overloading of officers re casework and what is the Councils position in relation to being taken into ‘special measure’.

As outlined in the Director’s recent update to Members, there is a new plan that has been created by the team that includes many elements, including to recruit to key posts, as well as ways of addressing the backlog of applications. There are case planning sessions which have been put in the diary with the team and these will also serve as a way of training the less experienced officers and exposing them to new planning issues. We are also reviewing processes in order to make them more efficient. In addition to this, Members will be very aware of the work being undertaken between Members and Officers on Planning Reimagined. Lots of changes to the way we make planning decisions locally have been proposed and when these workshops finish we will be bringing forward these changes for agreement. These will greatly benefit the system and Officers with workload.

 We will also be undertaking a review of all enforcement cases and of the way the Council processes applications to ensure the fundamental basics of the system are as efficient and effective as possible. 

On 4^th September we will be interviewing for the new Lead Specialist - Built Environment, and the work they will do with Members on the importance of good and sound planning decisions will be a key part of their role.

Special measures means the Government have served a designation notice on the planning service. The Government sets a target of 13 weeks for major planning applications to be determined, and authorities failing to consistently deliver this risk a designation notice.  Obviously we ask for time extensions with agents, and if they agree then the clock stops ticking. If someone doesn’t agree to an extension, and it goes beyond the 13 weeks then we risk a designation notice if this consistently and repeatedly happens. It’s why the Government monitor the statistics, and we have to submit national statistics regularly on this.  We are also monitored on our performance at planning appeals; a report will be presented to the District Executive on this issue in October.

In practice, if there are special measures imposed then this can mean that until further notice, a major developer will have the choice of having a decision made by the authority’s planning service or by the Planning Inspectorate. It takes away the power from us as a Council and we effectively lose our status as determining authority for potentially some of the most important applications in the district, as many developers would choose the Planning Inspectorate.