Percentage of local planning authorities having an adopted local plan
How the figure is calculated:
It is the number of Local Planning Authorities with an adopted plan as a percentage of total number of Local Planning Authorities.
Why is this indicator in the business plan?
Adopted local plans are essential for a 'plan led' system whereby planning permissions are generally granted for developments in accordance with the plan
How often is it updated?
The figure is derived from data reported by PINS during the last quarterly period, however the PINS published database for strategic issues/'core strategies' Local Plans progress is updated online in real time.
Where does the data come from?
Monitoring information which feeds into the business plan indicator of Local Plan adoption is generated by the Planning Inspectorate (who are responsible for independently examining Local Plans on behalf of the Secretary of State). It is established protocol that this information is passed to DCLG on a fortnightly basis. This information feeds the team's monitoring information and in turn feeds the Business Plan indicator, which is updated quarterly.
What area does the headline figure cover?
England
Are further breakdowns of the data available?
By size of authority, type of authority, urban/rural classification of authority
What does a change in this indicator show?
Local Plans help local authorities to plan positively for the future. We would expect to see the proportion of local authorities with adopted plans to increase.
Time Lag
See Robustness and data limitations below.
Next available update
May 2015.
Type of Data
Management information
Robustness and data limitations
The Planning Inspectorate collect the information as part of its work in examining Local Plans. This means they will know when a local plan has been found sound. Although LPAs should inform the Planning Inspectorate when a Local Plan is adopted, in practice there can be a delay of several months before this information is recorded. Therefore data will be subject to revisions, however, as the number of adoptions every month is very low, this does not have a significant impact on the overall percentage of adopted plans.
Links to Further Information
See: Preparation and Monitoring of Local Plans: strategic issues/'core strategies' here.
Contact Details
CorporatePerformance@communities.gsi.gov.uk