Transparency data

Digital Planning Programme: accounting officer assessment

Updated 30 October 2024

Background and context

Decades of underinvestment and lack of innovation in the current planning system has resulted in highly inefficient processes that are not fit for modern day planning services. This has led to a slow and bureaucratic planning application process, inefficient use of time and effort in local planning authorities, disengaged local communities, and a lack of standardised, structured, and machine-readable open data.

The programme is focused on fixing the structural and foundational issues of the planning system, which have arisen due to the lack of modernisation and failure to adopt modern technology. The programme will directly deliver four key outcomes to address these issues:

1. Automating manual tasks to deliver a minimum 20% time saving for planning officers to enable more time to be spent on strategic planning and reduce errors in processing applications.

2. Leverage new technologies and better data to streamline the plan making process for local plans so that the time to deliver is reduced from the current average of 7 years down to 30 months.

3. Improve local engagement in the planning process by developing guidance and tools to increase the uptake of easy-to-use engagement platforms and approaches.

4. Standardising planning data so that it is accurate and trustworthy and making it easily available on a new, national planning data platform.

Assessment against the Accounting Officer Standards

This AO assessment considers the four accounting officer standards of regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility.

Regularity

The programme follows internal governance processes. The Programme Business Case has been prepared in line with the Green Book. It has been assessed and following a period of conditional approval, was fully approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Investment Sub-Committee in April 2023. HM Treasury provided conditional approval in March 2023.

Section 31 of the Local Government Finance Act, 2003 is being used to make payments to local authorities. Successful local authorities are awarded funding in line with the budget agreed by the Department at Spending Review 2021 and confirmed in the Department’s Estimates.

My assessment is that the regularity test is satisfied.

Propriety

Programme governance is comprised of a monthly Programme Assurance Review chaired by the Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) which feeds recommendations into a quarterly Steering Board that is chaired by a DLUHC Non-Executive Director and attended by specialists, external experts, and senior members of the Planning Inspectorate and Planning Advisory Service. The purpose of the Steering Board is to provide assurance to Ministers, and the SRO that the Programme is being run in line with the expectations set out in HM Treasury rules on Managing Public Money. Further it provides strategic oversight and direction for the delivery of the programme by agreeing priorities and providing constructive challenge, assurance, and support to the delivery teams.

The Digital Planning Programme is on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). As such it is subject to regular external Gateway reviews, coordinated by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA). As a result, the management and governance arrangements have been developed in consultation with, and are regularly reviewed by, the IPA.

The programme conforms to HM Treasury rules on Managing Public Money. The Outline Business Case considered different options for delivery as well as setting out a funding distribution model that is fair, open, and transparent. The programme is allocating rounds of funding to local authorities. Distribution of the funds meet the standards governing the use of public funds. Funding is allocated according to published funding guidance.

My assessment is that the propriety test is satisfied.

Value for Money

The value for money appraisal, within the programme business case has been created in accordance with HM Treasury Green Book principles.

The cost benefit analysis estimates that the digital programme could yield £1.30 of benefits for every £1 of public spend over ten years. There are costs in implementing the programme, however the expected benefits are greater in terms of time and cost savings due to simplification and standardisation of processes and wider impacts to the public and private sectors through open, standardised data. The programme has initiated a monitoring and evaluation workstream to track the progress of the benefits case against plans and will highlight where expected thresholds are not being met.

My assessment is that the value for money test is satisfied.

Feasibility

The programme has taken new measures in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill that is currently going through the parliamentary process. The Bill is now being considered by the House of Lords. The measures will help to deliver a data-driven planning system, where local authorities will publish open, standardised data. Three of the four key outcomes of this programme of work are not dependent on the measures in the Bill, however it will support implementation.

The delivery approach has been iterated through a series of pilots and pathfinders that have given the programme a greater level of confidence that the planned interventions will deliver the intended benefits. There is a sensible delivery plan in place to scale adoption of modern planning services by local authorities. The programme is supported in its capabilities and capacity to deliver through a range of delivery partner contracts. These contracts satisfy the commercial internal checks of DLUHC and have been awarded through open and fair competition.

The key risks to the feasibility of the programme are that it does not deliver the required behaviour changes from local authorities and software suppliers. Continued work by the programme to maintain engagement with key stakeholders and users, as well as monitoring the realisation of benefits, enables ongoing assessment of feasibility and mitigation of emerging risk factors.

The programme has an established governance framework in place, consisting of appropriate internal and external governance checks – including by the Central Digital and Data Office in the Cabinet Office. Therefore, I believe the necessary oversight given to this programme will help it remain on the right track for successful delivery.

My assessment is that the feasibility test is satisfied.

Conclusion

As the Accounting Officer for DLUHC I have considered this assessment of the Digital Planning Programme and on balance the proposal is value for money and deliverable. I have approved it as of 22 May 2023.

I have prepared this summary to set out the key points which informed my decision. If any of these factors change materially during the lifetime of this project, I undertake to prepare a revised summary, setting out my assessment of them.

This summary will be published on GOV.UK. Copies will be deposited in the Library of the House of Commons and sent to the Comptroller and Auditor General and Treasury Officer of Accounts.

Sarah Healey
Accounting Officer

22 May 2023