Richard Crawley

The Planning Quality Framework

‘The research suggests that government planning performance targets may be driving perverse behaviour,’ he said.‘This is especially worrying as the research also finds that a focus on good practice in local planning authorities is required if the NPPF is to be fully effective.‘A number of local authorities are exemplary according to the performance data but described as ‘horrendous’ by those with first-hand experience of working with them.’Under this regime, efficient authorities that focus on customer service and enabling good development could be placed in special measures because they miss their targets, while others could be lauded for gaming the system.‘The evidence from the research suggests that government proposals to increase the threshold for designating authorities as underperforming may only make matters worse,’ Betts added.

• Clive Betts, Chair of all-party select committee [4th April 2014]

Why PAS can help• Benchmarking since 2009. Trusted. Expert. • Bring together all the components (now)

– Leadership– Positive planning– Good practise– Peer working

• Working towards integrating– Plan-led system– Quality and focus on development (not consents)

Why PAS can help• Benchmarking since 2009. Trusted. Expert. • Bring together all the components (now)

– Leadership [councillors; AMR; standards]– Positive planning [pre-app; PPA; evaluation]– Good practise [s106; cttee;]– Peer working [design; cohorts]

• Working towards integrating– Plan-led system [policy ?]– Quality and focus on development (not consents)

A framework based on three things

• Application data (inc quantitative ‘quality’)• Survey data• Feedback on quality

• Powerful as three separate things• We’re going to bring them together• We’ve never done this before

PAS Benchmark Quality FrameworkYou have to do it all The more chunks you do the

better the valueOnce per year, and if you miss the boat – tough.

Just begin.

Snapshot in time Trend over quarters

Industrial strength cost accounting

Low hassle and easy. Means to end.

Internal management tool External badge of quality

• Both free, sector-led (designed through pilot group) and based on “understand to improve”

What’s the commitment ?

• You need to provide– A chief data wrangler to set up, maintain– Annual survey of councillors, staff, amenity groups

• What do you get ?– Detailed understanding of what’s happening– Survey feedback on peoples’ opinions– Data on quality of work and outcomes

• Together = balanced, holistic framework

What next?

• The Planning Quality Framework will be launched in September

• Preparing more Good practice sharing materials:

- committee structures

- project management of major schemes

- s106 processes• What else?