Minister for Housing and Planning (): Planning is principally
a local activity, and the government recognise the vital role
that planning committees play in ensuring that decisions about
what to build and where are shaped by local communities and
reflect the views of local residents. However, in providing
essential local democratic oversight of planning decisions, we
must ensure planning committees operate as effectively as
possible, focusing on those applications which require member
input and not revisiting the same decisions.
At present, every local planning authority has its own scheme of
delegation to identify the circumstances in which planning
decisions are taken by planning committee rather than delegated
to officers. Most local planning authorities already delegate a
significant proportion of applications to such officers – such
that 96% of planning decisions in England are already not made by
planning committees. However, there is significant variation
across the country, and this creates risk and uncertainty in the
system.
It is for this reason that we took powers in the Planning and
Infrastructure Act 2025 to allow the government to introduce a
national scheme of delegation. By setting out which planning
functions should be delegated to planning officers for a decision
and which should go instead to a planning committee or
subcommittee, a national scheme of delegation will ensure greater
consistency and certainty across England about who in a local
planning authority will be responsible for making planning
decisions.
During the passage of the Act, the government consulted on
proposals relating to the delegation of planning functions, the
size and composition of planning committees and mandatory
training for members of planning committees. We are today
publishing the government response to that consultation.
As required by the Act, I am also publishing today a further
consultation on draft regulations which set out the national
scheme of delegation and the maximum size of planning committees,
and statutory guidance to support local planning authorities in
implementing the reforms. This consultation will run until 23
April 2026.
The draft regulations, which were informed by the responses to
the earlier consultation, implement the national scheme of
delegation through the creation of a two-tier structure. Schedule
1 of the regulations sets out the applications which must be
determined by officers in all circumstances. Schedule 2 sets out
the applications which are presumed to go to officers unless they
meet the criteria specified in the regulations and the nominated
officer (usually the Head of Planning) and nominated member
(usually the Chair of the Committee) agree that they should be
referred to committee (the gateway test).
There are separate provisions for applications made by, or on
behalf of, a local planning authority itself, or an officer or
member of the authority, to be referred to committee where
appropriate even if they do not raise any significant planning,
economic, social or environmental issues. The draft regulations
also set a maximum size limit of 13 members for a planning
committee.
Subject to consideration of the responses received to this latest
consultation, we will finalise the regulations and associated
statutory guidance, which will then be subject to further
scrutiny through the affirmative procedure. The government's
intention is that the regulations will come into effect in Autumn
2026. We continue to work on the arrangements for the mandatory
training of committee members, and these will be announced in due
course.
