Government Proposes National Scheme to Streamline Planning Decisions

The Government is preparing to overhaul the planning system through a new National Scheme of Delegation, designed to accelerate decision-making by giving planning officers greater authority. Introduced as part of the forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the scheme would limit planning committee involvement to only the most significant or complex applications—aiming to improve consistency, cut delays, and streamline the process nationwide.

 

What happens now?

 

At present, Councils have their own “schemes of delegation” setting out the circumstances in which planning application decisions are made by planning committees and when they are dealt with under delegated powers by planning officers.

 

Most planning committees, which comprise a number of elected councillors, make well considered and fair decisions most of the time. However, there remain a number of issues with how committees operate that the Government wants to address, including:

 

1. Too much time is spent considering applications which are compliant with the local plan or applications for post-permission matters, especially where the development would be on an allocated site and where there are clear policy requirements for the site in the local plan;
2. In some instances, applications are refused against officer advice only to be overturned on appeal, delaying appropriate development and wasting taxpayers’ money;
3. There can be insufficient understanding among all committee members of planning principles and law, inhibiting their ability to make decisions in line with these principles and law, in turn making these decisions more vulnerable to being overturned on appeal; and
4. There is a lack of transparency of committee decisions and their consequences – especially if a committee refuses an application and there is a successful appeal with costs awarded against the local planning authority.

 

What Is the Government Proposing?

 

To improve the speed, consistency, and predictability of planning decisions, the Government published the Planning Reform Working Paper: Planning Committees in December 2024. The paper outlined three key proposals to reform the way planning committees operate:

 

1. A National Scheme of Delegation
   This would set clear, consistent rules across the country for which planning applications are decided by officers and which are referred to committees, reducing variation between local authorities.

2. Dedicated Committees for Strategic Development
   Local authorities would establish specialised committees made up of a small group of councillors focused solely on large or complex applications, allowing for more expertise and consistent decision-making on major developments.

3. Mandatory Training for Committee Members
   Councillors would be required to complete appropriate training before sitting on a planning committee, ensuring they are equipped to make informed and legally sound decisions.

 

Overview of National Scheme of Delegation 

 

The Government envisages that this will provide a standardised, consistent approach to delegation of decisions in all local planning authorities, recognising where sites have already had democratic approval through the local plan process.

 

In the working paper, the Government put forward possible options for a national scheme of delegation,  including:

 

Option 1: Delegation Where an Application Complies with the Development Plan

• What it means:
  If a planning application fully aligns with the Local Plan, it must be decided by officers rather than going to committee.

• Flexibility for LPAs:
  Where an application doesn’t comply with the development plan, each LPA can decide how to process it (e.g., officer decision or committee), as is currently the case.

• Scope:
  Would also apply to reserved matters, conditions discharge, and special consents (e.g., listed building, advertisement consents).

Option 2: Delegation as Default with Exceptions for Departures from the Development Plan

• What it means:
  All applications are delegated to officers by default unless they fall under specific exceptions:

  • The application departs from the Local Plan and is recommended for approval by officers.

  • The application is made by the LPA itself, its members, or officers (to avoid conflicts of interest).

• Key intent:
  Reduce committee workload while ensuring oversight on politically or policy-sensitive applications.

Option 3: Delegation as Default with a Prescriptive List of Exceptions

• What it means:
  Again, delegation is the norm, but a nationally defined list would specify which application types must go to committee.

• Examples of potential committee cases:

  • Major applications over a certain size threshold

  • Applications triggering statutory objections

  • Applications involving significant public interest

• Benefit:
  Provides clarity and predictability to applicants and officers from the outset.

 

What happened next?

 

Following the consultation on the working paper and analysis of the responses received, the Government introduced the following measures in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which was introduced into Parliament on 11 March 2025:

 

1. New Delegation Powers:

   • A power for the Secretary of State to define which planning functions must be:

     • Delegated to planning officers, and

     • Determined by planning committees or sub-committees.

2. Control of Planning Committees:

   • A power to regulate the size and composition of planning committees across local planning authorities, aiming for greater consistency and effectiveness.

3. Mandatory Training and Certification:

   • A requirement for all members of planning committees to undergo mandatory training and certification in core planning principles and procedures, to ensure informed and accountable decision-making.

It is understood that the detailed provisions will be set out in regulations to be brought forward following Royal Assent for the Bill.   In the meantime, the Government is now seeking views on what detailed provisions should be included in the regulations as part of its ‘Reform of Planning Committees:  Technical Consultation’, which was published on 28^th May 2025.

 

The consultation, which will run until 23^rd July 2025, seeks views on proposals around the delegation of planning functions, the size and composition of planning committees and mandatory training for members of planning committees.

 

Proposed Scheme of Delegation: Two-Tier Model

 

The Government is now proposing a nationally consistent two-tier scheme of delegation for planning applications, to be embedded in regulations following the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. This approach sets out which applications must be delegated to officers and which can optionally be referred to committee under defined conditions.

 

Tier A would include types of applications which must be delegated to officers in all cases.   At present the following types of applications would be in Tier A:

 

• Applications for planning permission for:
  • Householder development;
  • Minor commercial development; and
  • Minor* residential development (residential development for up to 9 dwellings).
• Applications for reserved matter approvals;
• Applications for s96A non-material amendments to planning permissions;
• Applications for the approval of conditions;
• Applications for approval of the BNG Plan;
• Applications for approval of prior approval (for permitted development rights);
• Applications for Lawful Development Certificates; and
• Applications for a Certificate of Appropriate Alternative Development.

 

*    Please note that  in a separate but related consultation, the Government is looking at redefining site thresholds.  At present, any scheme of 10+ homes counts as a Major                      application -  whether it’s 10 homes or 500.   The new proposals being consulted on would introduce two additional categories:

           i).  Very Small Sites (<0.1 hectares) 

          ii).  Medium Sites (10–49 homes)

 

Tier B  would include types of applications which must be delegated to officers unless the Chief Planner and Chair of Committee agree it should go to Committee based on a gateway test (such as where the application raises an economic, social or environmental issue of significance to the local area or where the application raises a significant planning matter having regard to the development plan). 

 

At present the following types of applications would be in Tier B:

 

• Applications for planning permission not in Tier A;
• Notwithstanding Tier A, any application for planning permission where the applicant is the local authority, a councillor or officer;
• Section 73 applications to vary conditions; and
• Review of mineral planning conditions.

 

What next??

 

The Government is expected to announce the next steps after it has reviewed responses to the Reform of Planning Committees: Technical Consultation and finalised the details of the proposed delegation framework and committee reforms. This will likely lead to the introduction of secondary legislation later in 2025, following Royal Assent of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

 

DHA Planning will be keeping a close watch on developments over the coming months and will continue to provide updates as further information becomes available.

 

Stay tuned for the latest insight and analysis on planning reform — and don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to discuss how these changes could affect your projects.