Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 20 October 2022

Published 20 October 2022

Applies to England

1. Introduction

This statistical release provides summary information on appeals, which represent the highest volume (in terms of number of cases) of the work of the Planning Inspectorate.

These statistics are produced each month and the focus is on timeliness of decision-making, as that is an area in which stakeholders have an interest. Information on the decisions that have been made is also included; and on the number of Inspectors available to make those decisions.

These statistics have been published to ensure everyone has equal access to the information and to support the Planning Inspectorate’s commitment to release information where possible.

This statistical bulletin provides:

• Appeals decisions and events held from October 2021 to September 2022
• The time taken to reach decisions
• Number of open cases
• Number of Inspectors

1.1 The Planning Inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate makes decisions and provides recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across England.

The Planning Inspectorate deals with planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related and specialist casework in England. The Planning Inspectorate is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, previously known as the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

2. Summary

2.1 Time to decide cases

The median time to decide a case in September 2022 was 29 weeks. This is the longest observed in the last 12 months and is driven by longer decision times for the cases answered by written representation. Decisions on hearings saw the lowest monthly median of the past 12 months in September and inquiries the second lowest in the period.

Median timeliness by procedure type is shown in the summary table below

Procedure type	Last 12 months	September 2022
Written Representations	25 weeks	28 weeks
Hearings	58 weeks	44 weeks
Inquiries	53 weeks	36 weeks
All Cases	26 weeks	29 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 27 weeks in September, with the 12 month median being 25 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in September had a median decision time of 48 weeks, with the 12 month median being 42 weeks.

For each of the last 12 months Specialist cases have been decided more quickly than Enforcement cases. In September the median decision time for specialist cases was 31 weeks.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process over the 12 months to September 2022 is 29 weeks

2.2 Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,175 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,431 per month. The number of decisions in September 2022 was 1,197, lower than 12 month average; however, this will be an under-estimate of the actual number of decisions made, as some cases will have been entered onto the database after the dataset for statistics was downloaded.

There were 1,112 written representations decisions in September 2022; and 16,061 in the last 12 months. Pre-pandemic levels were approximately between 1,600 and 2,000 decisions per month.

There were 644 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, and during September 2022, 62 decisions were issued. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month.

There were 470 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 23 in August 2022. Decisions for inquiries since September 2021 have ranged between 18 and 78. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

2.3 Planning Inspectors

There were 388 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in September 2022 with a full-time equivalent of 346.

3. Decisions, Events and Open Cases

The number of decisions issued in September 2022 was 1,197, 280 fewer decisions compared to August 2022. However this will under-estimate the actual number of decisions made, as some cases will have been entered onto the database after the dataset for statistics was downloaded. This issue occurs every month but will have a larger than normal impact for September due to the first two days being the weekend.

The number of events recorded for September 2022 was 1,415. As reported in earlier months, the way events are recorded changed in April 2022.

The median time to decide a case during September 2022 was 29 weeks, 2 weeks higher than September 2022. The median time to decide was around 26 weeks at the start of the reporting period and has been 24 – 29 weeks over the past 12 months.

Figure 1: Number of events held , decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; October 2021 to September 2022.

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System

Note: The process and admin system used for events data has changed from April 2022. See Background Quality Report for more information

Table 1: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; October 2021 to September 2022

Note: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Events Held	1,128	1,557	939	1,422	1,635	1,574	1,038	1,306	1,224	1,224	1,443	1,415	15,905
Decisions	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,365	1,668	1,907	1,253	1,414	1,195	1,425	1,477	1,197	17,175
Median	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	26.9	25.9	26.9	28.9	26.0

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System

Over recent months PINS has transitioned to a new system for scheduling casework and changed the way that specialist casework records are kept, bringing them in line with other case type records. This has resulted in approximately 200 extra cases being included in our open case counts from February 2022.

Note – The number of cases closed is higher than the number of decisions, as it includes cases where an appeal is withdrawn, notice is withdrawn, or the appeal is turned away.

Figure 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; October 2021 to September 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Note 1: there is a known anomaly that means that the number of open cases does not exactly follow the volumes of cases closed or received (for example the number of open cases can increase between months even though the number closed exceeded the number received). The main reasons for this have been identified and are detailed in the Background Quality Report. The inspectorate are Investigating how to introduce new processes to improve the quality of this data which once complete may result in revisions to the number of open cases.

Note 2: Additional specialist casetypes are included in open case counts from February 2022

Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; October 2021 to September 2022

Note 1: This table includes revision and correction to previously published data. Please see Annex D for further information

Note 2: Additional specialist casetypes are included in open case counts from February 2022

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Received	1,767	1,945	1,756	1,709	1,714	1,826	1,635	1,973	1,711	1,698	1,647	1,636	21,017
Closed	1,420	1,777	1,679	1,542	1,880	2,158	1,420	1,640	1,403	1,609	1,683	1,358	19,569
Open	12775	12914	13000	13241	13292	12974	13183	13499	13882	13978	13973	14260

Source: Horizon and Picaso

4. Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,175 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,197 cases decided in September 2022 which is over 200 fewer decisions than the 12 month average of 1,431 decisions per month. Table 3 below shows the monthly breakdown with fewer decisions for the months of October, April and June.

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; October 2021 to September 2022

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Decisions	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,365	1,668	1,907	1,253	1,414	1,195	1,425	1,477	1,197	17,175

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Figure 3 – Appeal Decisions; October 2021 to September 2022

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Source: Horizon and Picaso

4.1 Decisions by procedure and case type

Planning Inspectors work on a broader range of work than the appeals featured in this Release. For example, they also work on examining Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project applications, Local Plans , Compulsory Purchase Order applications and many other specialist licencing/ application types.

Table 4 below gives the numbers of appeal decisions made broken down by whether the case was dealt with by written representations, hearings, or inquiries.

The large majority of decisions (16,061) were made on written representations. This is ninety three percent of all appeal decisions made. Table 4 shows that written representation decisions has varied from around 1,100 to over 1,800 per month over the past 12 months.(Pre-pandemic levels being between approximately 1,600 and 2,000 decisions per month). There were 1,112 decisions in September 2022.

There were 644 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 54. During September 2022 62 decisions were issued. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month. In September 2022 23 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries since October 2021 have ranged between 18 and 78. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; October 2021 to September 2022

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Written Representations	1,186	1,457	1,398	1,250	1,596	1,811	1,155	1,291	1,108	1,337	1,360	1,112	16,061
Hearings	32	47	53	55	37	50	67	87	52	63	39	62	644
Inquiries	18	51	32	60	35	46	31	36	35	25	78	23	470
Total	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,365	1,668	1,907	1,253	1,414	1,195	1,425	1,477	1,197	17,175
Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Planning	1,033	1,330	1,262	1,108	1,411	1,606	983	1,151	1,009	1,172	1,163	970	14,198
Enforcement	153	193	160	208	220	253	174	214	138	167	224	168	2,272
Specialist	50	32	61	49	37	48	96	49	48	86	90	59	705
Total	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,365	1,668	1,907	1,253	1,414	1,195	1,425	1,477	1,197	17,175

Source: Horizon and Picaso.

What are Planning cases? The Planning category includes s78 planning appeals, householder appeals, commercial appeals, listed building consent appeals, advertisement appeals, s106 planning obligation appeals and Called In Planning Applications.

What are Enforcement cases? Enforcement covers enforcement appeals (i.e., appeals against the issue of an enforcement notice by a local planning authority), enforcement listed building notice appeals and lawful development certificate appeals.

What are Specialist cases? Specialist casework includes Common Land, Rights of Way orders (including Schedule 14 cases), Purchase orders, Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals, Hedgerow appeals, Wayleave, Compulsory Purchase Orders, Secretary of State, Transport, Environmental Permitting Appeals and Coastal Access. Additional casework types have been added to this category over time.

The large majority of cases were planning (14,198). This is about eighty-three per cent of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,272 enforcement decisions and 705 specialist decisions. These totals are also shown in Table 4 above and Figure 4 below.

Trends for planning decisions show similar patterns to written representations. The average number of enforcement decisions over the past 12 months was 189. March 22 had the most enforcement decisions of the last 12 months. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a low of 32 in September and November 2021 to a high of 96 in April 2022. The high number of cases decided in April was partly attributable to a large group of linked cases that were responded to at the same time.

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; October 2021 to September 2022

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Appeal Decisions by Procedure

Appeal Decisions by Casework Type

Source: Horizon and Picaso

5. Decision Timeliness

It is important for people to know how long an appeal is going to take, so that they can make plans and decisions based on this information. This section covers the timeliness of decisions (i.e., how long it takes to make a decision) across appeal casework. In addition to an overall measure, timeliness is analysed by procedure type and casework category, as timeliness varies a great deal depending on these characteristics.

Table 5 below shows that the median time to make a decision, across all cases in the last 12 months, was 26 weeks. Figure 5 shows the median has been between 24 and 29 weeks for each of the last 12 months.

5.1 How is timeliness measured?

The time to make a decision is measured from the time the Inspectorate have enough information for the case to proceed (it is deemed ‘valid’) to the time a decision letter is issued. A large majority of cases are ‘validated’ (the difference between the date the appeal is received, and the validation process being completed) in a week or less.

The decisions made in a given month will include those that started many months before, and thus do not give an accurate indication of how long decisions submitted, or deemed ‘valid’ in that month, will take.

Table 5 also shows the mean time for the last 12 months is 32 weeks. Each month the median is less than the mean, due to the relatively small number of very long cases. Also included in the table is the standard deviation of decision timeliness. The standard deviation – a measure of variation – is comparable to performance seen over the last 12 months.

What are mean, median and standard deviation?

Measure	Definition
Mean	The total time taken divided by the number of cases. Also referred to as the ‘average’. A measure of how long each case would take, if the total time taken was spread evenly across all cases.
Median	This is the time taken by the ‘middle’ case if all cases were sorted from quickest to longest
Standard deviation	This is a measure of variability or spread. It is calculated by examining how much each value differs from the mean. A higher standard deviation means the individual decision times vary more widely around the mean. A lower standard deviation would demonstrate greater consistency in the Planning Inspectorate’s decision timeliness.

Table 5: Median, mean and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision; October 2021 to September 2022

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	26.9	25.9	26.9	28.9	26.0
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	31.0	30.6	29.4	31.8	28.4	30.5	31.3	36.2	32.7	33.3	33.7	34.4	31.5
Standard Deviation (weeks)	18.8	21.3	17.7	22.0	17.6	24.0	24.8	31.2	25.1	27.0	23.1	22.2	22.8

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; October 2021 to September 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

5.2 Procedure Type

Table 6 below shows decision timeliness broken down by the procedure type. Hearings and inquires take longer than written representations both types take more than twice as long on average across the last 12 months. Because 19 of every 20 cases are by written representation, the timeliness measures for written representations are similar to the measure across all cases. Decision times for written representations were at their longest for the 12 month period in September and this results in the overall median decision time also being at it’s highest for the period. Decisions on hearings saw the lowest monthly median of the past 12 months in September and inquiries the second lowest in the period.

Where a small number of cases has been decided, the average timeliness (whether mean or median) is less meaningful as a measure than where there are many cases. Those noted in the table caption below should be treated with caution as there are fewer than 20 cases decided.

Median times are less affected by a small number of large values than mean times, so are the focus of this commentary. The median time for written representations over the 12 months to September 2022 is 25 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to September 2022 is 58 weeks and 52 weeks for inquiries.

Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure; October 2021 to September 2022

Note 1: where the number of decisions issued is fewer than 20, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Note 2: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Measure	Procedure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	25.9	24.4	24.9	25.4	24.1	24.3	24.4	27.0	26.1	25.1	26.1	28.1	25.1
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	53.6	47.9	53.1	64.1	45.7	52.8	108.3	94.0	59.1	58.4	63.0	43.6	58.4
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	50.4	84.9	40.6	90.9	57.3	42.1	38.4	44.2	39.6	31.1	68.6	35.6	52.6
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	26.9	25.9	26.9	28.9	26.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	29.5	27.9	27.7	28.1	27.0	28.9	27.3	30.4	29.6	30.3	30.7	32.8	28.9
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	57.2	60.8	61.2	75.7	57.5	60.5	89.1	113.6	87.4	84.9	67.8	52.2	74.8
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	77.6	82.3	47.3	69.4	60.7	60.7	57.7	55.8	49.9	60.6	68.0	62.8	63.4
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	31.0	30.6	29.4	31.8	28.4	30.5	31.3	36.2	32.7	33.3	33.7	34.4	31.5
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	16.2	15.5	15.0	15.3	15.1	21.9	17.2	18.3	17.1	20.8	19.0	19.3	17.6
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	22.9	38.6	32.0	43.8	33.1	27.5	38.3	59.8	62.7	55.2	43.1	31.8	47.6
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	50.9	43.8	30.0	30.5	35.4	45.8	46.2	37.2	35.8	53.8	30.6	56.0	41.1
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	18.8	21.3	17.7	22.0	17.6	24.0	24.8	31.2	25.1	27.0	23.1	22.2	22.8
Decisions	Written Representations	1,186	1,457	1,398	1,250	1,596	1,811	1,155	1,291	1,108	1,337	1,360	1,112	16,061
Decisions	Hearings	32	47	53	55	37	50	67	87	52	63	39	62	644
Decisions	Inquiries	18	51	32	60	35	46	31	36	35	25	78	23	470
Decisions	Total	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,365	1,668	1,907	1,253	1,414	1,195	1,425	1,477	1,197	17,175

Source: Horizon and Picaso.

The standard deviation information indicates that for all three procedures, there is considerable variation, meaning times are widely spread about the mean. For written representations, the amount of variation has been quite stable over recent months, whereas hearings and enquiries have experienced considerable month to month changes in the spread of decision times.

5.3 Casework Category

The nature of the cases the Planning Inspectorate deal with varies widely and several factors play a part in determining how long it takes to make a decision. One such factor is the type of casework. Table 7 below shows the time taken to decide, in planning cases, in enforcement cases, and in specialist cases, as does Figure 6.

The median time to decision for planning cases (there are many more of these decisions than in the other categories) is lower than for enforcement cases; and less variable than the times for specialist cases. Table 7 and Figure 6 show the median time for planning cases has been above 24 weeks for the last twelve months.

Table 7: Decisions, Mean, Median and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases; October 2021 to September 2022

Appeal Type	Measure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	25.3	24.6	24.6	25.2	24.3	23.6	24.9	27.0	26.0	25.0	25.1	26.9	25.0
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	28.3	27.2	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.8	26.7	30.3	29.2	29.1	28.7	30.5	27.8
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	13.6	14.1	13.7	16.2	13.9	15.0	15.3	21.6	17.9	20.5	17.7	16.8	16.3
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	34.0	39.9	39.1	37.5	31.1	44.6	48.0	57.8	40.9	42.1	58.6	47.7	42.0
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	43.6	53.5	45.0	49.5	39.9	57.5	59.7	66.9	56.3	56.5	56.1	52.1	52.5
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	30.2	37.6	26.4	32.4	26.7	39.8	40.8	50.1	47.0	41.0	29.6	30.2	37.0
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	32.1	19.7	27.1	29.4	26.0	27.2	12.7	27.3	29.8	24.9	30.9	31.1	26.9
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	47.4	36.4	40.8	41.6	39.5	46.7	27.4	40.4	40.9	45.3	41.9	47.0	41.1
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	35.4	40.7	32.5	37.0	36.4	45.5	30.0	34.8	27.1	41.7	29.6	38.4	36.1

Source: Horizon and Picaso.

Annex A gives information on median and mean time to decision, with standard deviation, for the three procedure types, split by planning, enforcement, and specialist casework categories.

Enforcement decisions made in the last 12 months had a median decision time of 42 weeks.

There are considerably fewer specialist cases which means results are more liable to be distorted by extreme values. Looking at the annual measures, the median time to decision for specialist decisions have been shorter than enforcement decisions, and quite similar to the median for planning decisions.

Figure 6 – Median Time to Decision by Casework Category: October 2021 to September 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Note that the Inspectorate publishes each month, information on the mean and median times from valid to decision, for selected appeal types. The information published also breaks down the time for each stage of the process. See Annex B for further details.

5.4 Planning Inquiry Decisions

For planning appeals decided by the inquiry process, The Planning Inspectorate has been implementing recommendations from the Rosewell review.

The median time for inquiries under Rosewell process over the 12 months to September 2022 is 29 weeks and the mean time to decision for September 2022 was 35 weeks.

Table 8: Decisions, Mean and Median Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process; October 2021 to September 2022

Note 1: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful.

Note 2: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Measure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Decisions	8	19	14	21	23	22	14	25	22	13	18	11	210
Mean (weeks)	40.0	36.8	29.2	37.8	47.0	35.5	35.5	40.0	31.6	23.9	30.9	29.5	35.1
Median (weeks)	43.2	28.6	27.4	31.9	42.1	30.0	30.2	30.6	30.9	23.3	26.0	28.6	28.9
St. Dev. (weeks)	13.5	18.7	8.5	19.6	19.7	14.2	13.6	20.5	11.4	4.6	14.0	9.4	16.3

Source: Horizon

Most inquiry decisions now being issued are under the revised ‘Rosewell’ process but some inquiries, for example those that are linked together with associated enforcement cases, do not follow the Rosewell process.

Table 9: Decisions, Planning Inquiry Cases under non-Rosewell Process; October 2021 to September 2022

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul- 22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Decisions	0	0	3	2	0	3	3	1	1	2	3	0	18

Source: Horizon

Figure 7 below shows the mean and median time to decision for planning inquiry cases under the Rosewell process.

Figure 7: Mean and Median Time to Decision, Rosewell Inquiry Process; October 2021 to September 2022

Source: Horizon

6. Open Cases

At the end of August 2022, the Planning Inspectorate had more than fourteen thousand cases open (14,260). More information on the number of open cases, and how it has changed over the past 12 months, is in Table 2 and Figure 2 above.

The open cases comprised of 12,525 cases being handled through written representations; 935 through hearings; and 709 through inquiries. This is not the number of ‘live’ hearings and inquiries since it includes cases where the event (hearing or inquiry) has yet to start, as well as those where the event has finished but the decision has yet to be issued.

For each procedure type, there are more cases with an event yet to start, than at any other stage in the process. Event refers to either a site visit, hearing, or inquiry.

Table 10: Open cases by procedure and stage, as of end of September 2022

Stage	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	Total
Cases received but yet to be deemed valid	1,949	49	2	2,000
Cases deemed valid but yet to ‘start’	2,592	84	72	2,805
Case started but event (site visit/hearing/inquiry) has not yet happened	7,764	708	539	9,035
Event has happened/started  but decision not yet issued	220	94	96	420
Total	12,525	935	709	14,260

Source: Horizon

Note 1 - there are 91 cases that have no procedure type recorded (see Background Quality Report for more detail) These are included in the total but excluded from the breakdown by procedure.

Note 2 – there is a known anomaly that means that the number of open cases does not exactly follow the volumes of cases closed or received (for example the number of open cases can increase between months even though the number closed exceeded the number received). The main reasons for this have been identified and are detailed in the Background Quality Report. The inspectorate are Investigating how to introduce new processes to improve the quality of this data which once complete may result in revisions to the number of open cases.

7. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from October 2021 to September 2022 . This includes headcount (i.e. the number of different individuals) and full-time equivalents (FTE) where those working part time are counted in proportion with their contracted hours. There were 388 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in September 2022 – with a full-time equivalent of 346.

Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE; October 2021 to September 2022 (at end of month)

Month	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22
Headcount	351	360	361	360	357	357	355	365	371	378	376	388
FTE	314.0	323.2	322.8	320.9	318.9	319.1	316.6	325.9	331.5	337.7	335.0	346.2

Source: SAP HR

As above, Planning Inspectors work on a broader range of work than the appeals featured in this Release. Please note that data on Planning Inspectors is only applicable to salaried employees (it does not include fixed term contract Inspectors or non-salaried Inspectors).

8. Revisions to previous release

Data in the previous statistical release may have changed between being published last month and what is shown this month. Where changes have occurred (the volume numbers have changed by more than five, or the timeliness measures have changed by greater than 0.5 weeks) the tables in this release give the most recent figures. Information about which tables this applies to, can be found in Annex C and the separate Background Quality Report.

9. Quarterly Statistics

The Inspectorate has also published a series of tables of quarterly data. Some of the data published is on casework types that The Planning Inspectorate deals with, that are larger in scale but smaller in volume, than the appeals decisions that are the subject of the preceding sections of these statistics.  The best examples of this are Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and Local Plans, where volumes never go into the hundreds, and the time between submission to report issue can be over a year. Other data breaks appeals down into more detail than in the monthly totals.

9.1 Appeals against refusal of Planning Permission (Section 78 appeals)

The largest volume of casework dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate are appeals against refusal of Planning Permission, which are made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The analysis below deals with just this casework type although figures for other casework types can be found in the published quarterly statistics. 

9.2 Number of appeals received compared to decisions issued.

In the last twelve months, October 2021 to September 2022, there have been 10,834 Section 78 planning appeals (s78) received, compared to 10,883 for the period October 2020 to September 2021.  

In the last five complete financial years (April 2017 to March 2022) the highest level of quarterly receipts (3,684) occurred in October to December 2017 and the highest number of decisions (3,705) was in July to September 2019.  Over the past year the average number of receipts per quarter was 2,709 and the average number of decisions per quarter was 2,158.  

The number of appeals received in the second quarter of 2022/23 (2,626) was 2.5% lower than the same period in 2021/22.  Appeal receipts since the pandemic started average 2,694 per quarter (April 20 to September 22). 

Figure 8: Number of s78 Planning appeals receipts and decision, 2017/18 to 2022/23, by quarter

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Tables 2.1 and Table 2.4.

See Annex E, Table A, for full data table. 

The number of decisions being issued in the second quarter of 2022/23, July to September, was 1% more than the previous quarter but 2% less than the corresponding quarter last year.

9.3 Appeals Allowed

The percentage of Section 78 planning appeals that were allowed in the latest quarter was  28%. Over the past 4 quarters the percentage of appeals allowed has been 28% or 29% each quarter.

The consistency in the overall percentage allowed is heavily influenced by the number of written representations appeals allowed, as this procedure type contributes by far the greatest number of decisions each year.  There has been slightly more variation in the percentage allowed for hearings and inquiries.  See Figure 11 below for further details.

Figure 9: S78 planning appeals, percentage allowed, 2017/18 to 2022/23, by quarter

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided. 

See Annex E, Table B, for full data table

Figure 10: S78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2017/18 to 2022/23, by quarter

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided. 

See Annex E, Table B, for full data table

Figure 11: S78 planning appeals, number of appeals allowed, 2017/18 to 2022/23, by quarter

Source: Horizon & Picaso.  Full published data in Table 2.4 s78 planning appeals decided. 

See Annex E, Table C, for full data table

10. Annex A - Mean and median time to decision, with standard deviation, for planning, enforcement, and specialist casework

10.1 Planning

Note: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to October, November and December 2021 and April, July and September 2022 for inquiries decisions.

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Planning	Measure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	1,000	1,274	1,204	1,052	1,358	1,546	933	1,082	949	1,110	1,115	917	13,540
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	25.0	24.1	24.2	24.6	23.9	23.1	24.3	26.4	25.3	24.4	25.0	26.7	24.4
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	27.5	26.3	25.8	26.4	25.4	25.0	25.2	27.6	27.6	26.9	27.9	29.8	26.6
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	12.7	12.0	11.5	12.4	12.5	14.3	12.3	13.7	14.5	13.9	15.7	15.6	13.4
Hearings	Decisions	25	37	41	33	30	35	33	43	37	47	27	42	430
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	54.3	45.9	49.4	55.9	43.6	48.4	52.7	61.4	51.1	55.9	42.6	40.0	51.1
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	54.7	54.3	56.7	70.7	51.5	52.5	63.0	90.0	66.4	80.8	55.4	46.5	62.5
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	20.6	34.1	29.7	39.0	27.0	20.2	34.7	58.4	41.6	54.8	43.0	30.5	40.6
Inquiries	Decisions	8	19	17	23	23	25	17	26	23	15	21	11	228
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	43.2	28.6	23.9	31.9	42.1	28.0	33.7	32.1	31.0	24.0	26.0	28.6	29.3
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	40.0	36.8	29.1	41.0	47.0	35.6	37.4	43.6	33.2	29.4	37.5	29.5	37.3
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.5	18.7	10.5	25.4	19.7	15.1	13.7	27.0	13.4	14.8	27.2	9.4	21.0
All Cases	Decisions	1,033	1,330	1,262	1,108	1,411	1,606	983	1,151	1,009	1,172	1,163	970	14,198
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	25.3	24.6	24.6	25.2	24.3	23.6	24.9	27.0	26.0	25.0	25.1	26.9	25.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	28.3	27.2	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.8	26.7	30.3	29.2	29.1	28.7	30.5	27.8
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.6	14.1	13.7	16.2	13.9	15.0	15.3	21.6	17.9	20.5	17.7	16.8	16.3

10.2 Enforcement

Note: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to all month for hearing decisions and all months for inquiry decisions other than November 2021 and August 2022.

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Enforcement	Measure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	139	156	137	155	203	225	131	166	119	154	164	145	1,894
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	32.7	31.6	37.4	31.7	28.6	42.6	36.7	45.8	37.3	39.0	40.0	48.0	35.1
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	38.7	42.1	41.5	37.2	36.6	55.0	44.8	47.9	43.1	52.7	46.3	49.1	44.2
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	22.4	28.2	23.9	22.1	21.9	38.9	29.1	28.8	24.2	36.3	25.3	24.0	28.3
Hearings	Decisions	7	9	10	19	6	11	31	41	11	10	6	13	174
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	53.0	55.3	60.5	66.7	55.7	63.0	118.9	170.3	223.7	75.0	99.6	39.7	91.6
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	66.1	82.7	71.6	81.8	72.3	64.9	111.8	140.5	165.3	107.1	101.1	56.5	99.8
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	27.9	46.6	33.7	47.4	36.3	22.5	19.0	50.7	70.8	64.4	25.4	30.9	53.8
Inquiries	Decisions	7	28	13	34	11	17	12	7	8	3	54	10	204
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	147.4	118.3	48.0	90.9	71.9	58.3	49.3	78.0	96.1	52.7	68.6	62.3	86.1
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	117.6	107.6	60.9	87.3	84.0	86.0	88.5	86.7	103.3	81.7	80.9	89.4	88.7
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	52.2	26.8	27.1	15.4	44.0	48.0	60.7	37.2	35.9	43.7	22.2	64.5	37.4
All Cases	Decisions	153	193	160	208	220	253	174	214	138	167	224	168	2,272
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	34.0	39.9	39.1	37.5	31.1	44.6	48.0	57.8	40.9	42.1	58.6	47.7	42.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	43.6	53.5	45.0	49.5	39.9	57.5	59.7	66.9	56.3	56.5	56.1	52.1	52.5
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	30.2	37.6	26.4	32.4	26.7	39.8	40.8	50.1	47.0	41.0	29.6	30.2	37.0

10.3 Specialist

Note: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to all months’ hearings decisions; and all months inquiries decisions.

Note: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Specialist	Measure	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	47	27	57	43	35	40	91	43	40	73	81	50	627
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	30.4	17.3	24.9	29.0	24.9	24.1	11.3	23.3	25.8	22.9	27.9	28.1	24.6
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	45.0	21.3	36.1	35.0	33.9	32.4	23.2	33.5	38.1	35.3	38.1	40.0	34.7
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	34.1	14.7	27.5	30.1	28.9	29.8	22.1	27.8	27.1	30.7	26.7	34.4	29.4
Hearings	Decisions	0	1	2	3	1	4	3	3	4	6	6	7	40
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	-	101.9	101.9	130.1	149.1	127.9	141.0	90.9	75.1	76.4	82.6	68.1	80.3
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	0.0	101.9	101.9	93.2	149.1	118.7	141.5	85.7	68.0	80.7	90.5	78.3	93.5
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	-	0.0	26.2	58.0	0.0	22.9	15.4	29.0	14.7	24.4	28.4	26.1	35.0
Inquiries	Decisions	3	4	2	3	1	4	2	3	4	7	3	2	38
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	105.3	113.4	113.9	95.1	119.7	109.4	44.8	66.9	43.9	165.6	35.6	112.9	80.2
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	84.7	121.7	113.9	84.0	119.7	110.0	44.8	89.4	39.1	118.5	48.8	112.9	91.2
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	33.7	43.4	15.6	29.6	0.0	61.3	1.6	49.0	13.6	58.4	18.7	51.2	50.4
All Cases	Decisions	50	32	61	49	37	48	96	49	48	86	90	59	705
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	32.1	19.7	27.1	29.4	26.0	27.2	12.7	27.3	29.8	24.9	30.9	31.1	26.9
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	47.4	36.4	40.8	41.6	39.5	46.7	27.4	40.4	40.9	45.3	41.9	47.0	41.1
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	35.4	40.7	32.5	37.0	36.4	45.5	30.0	34.8	27.1	41.7	29.6	38.4	36.1

11. Annex B - Detailed Information on timeliness (September 2022)

The information below is published today on the number and length of decisions made in September 2022 :

Note 1: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to 11 planning appeals managed by inquiries and 13 enforcement appeals managed by hearings and 8 by inquiry.

Note 2: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Casework Type	Procedure Type	Median (weeks)	Mean (weeks)	Decisions
s78 planning appeals	Written Representations	31.3	33.9	567
s78 planning appeals	Hearings	40.0	47.3	40
s78 planning appeals	Inquiries	28.6	29.5	11
Householder appeals	Written Representations	17.9	21.7	288
Enforcement appeals	Written Representations	50.1	50.2	114
Enforcement appeals	Hearings	39.7	56.5	13
Enforcement appeals	Inquiries	62.3	92.1	8

The smaller the number of decisions, the less helpful the mean and median are as measures for summarising performance. Particular care should be taken when there are fewer than twenty decisions. These are shaded grey in the table but have been provided for completeness and transparency.

The information published below shows the time taken for different stages of the appeals process:

Note 1: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies for the 11 s78 hearings decided in September 2022.

Note 2: Number of decisions for September affected by decisions being recorded after statistics downloaded.

Measure	s78 Written Representations [Note 1]	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	11.9	2.0	3.0	5.3
Mean (average)	12.2	3.2	8.5	6.7
Cases that started in September 2022	602	24	39	263
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (average)	14.1	16.1	14.3	10.9
Mean (average)	17.3	17.8	23.8	13.9
Cases where an event occurred during September 2022	720	25	50	363
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	4.1	7.4	5.0	4.0
Mean (average)	5.3	7.3	7.1	4.7
Cases that have been decided in September 2022	535	11	41	298

Note: Only cases with both dates recorded appear in this table, meaning that numbers for cases decided and events recorded may be lower than those presented elsewhere.

Explanation of date terminology

Valid date	When a case is deemed to have been validly received.  Note – this is not always the date the case was validated. If a case is validated after the date it was validly received, it is the date it was validly received that is the valid date.
Start date	When a timetable, on how the appeal will progress, is issued to both the appellant and local authority. This timetable tells the appellant when to submit the information the Inspectors need to determine the appeal. It also tells the local authority when to notify interested parties about the appeal.
Event date	When the site visit, hearing, or inquiry occurred.
Decision date	When the decision was issued by The Planning Inspectorate.

Find out more about the process here - https://www.gov.uk/appeal-planning-decision/after-you-appeal

12. Annex C - Revisions to the data tables

This Annex lists all revisions made to the data since the last statistical release.

Note: Classed as a revision are any values which have changed by more than five (when measuring number of decisions/ cases) or more than 0.5 weeks (for mean, median or standard deviation of weeks).

Table	Revisions
Table 1	Events held
#Table 2	Closed Cases;
Table 2	Open Cases
Table 6	Standard Deviation (inquiries)
Table 7	Median;
Table 7	Mean;
Table 7	Standard deviation (specialist casework)
Annex A	Median;
Annex A	Mean;
Annex A	Standard Deviation.

In addition to the above, a correction has been made to the December 2021 open cases count (Table 2). A duplication error was identified and corrected in the data during the process of compiling these statistics and the number of open cases for December 2021 only is now 47 lower than previously reported.

13. Annex D - Quarterly Statistics

Table A: s78 planning appeals received and decided, by quarter since 2016/17

Quarter and Year	received	decided
Apr - Jun 2016/17	2,929	2,958
Jul - Sep 2016/17	2,895	3,056
Oct - Dec 2016/17	2,997	2,683
Jan - Mar 2016/17	2,972	2,796
Apr - Jun 2017/18	3,108	2,600
Jul - Sep 2017/18	3,131	2,680
Oct - Dec 2017/18	3,684	2,727
Jan - Mar 2017/18	3,436	2,731
Apr - Jun 2018/19	3,104	2,428
Jul - Sep 2018/19	3,192	2,431
Oct - Dec 2018/19	3,074	2,740
Jan - Mar 2018/19	2,867	2,665
Apr - Jun 2019/20	3,203	3,540
Jul - Sep 2019/20	2,849	3,705
Oct - Dec 2019/20	2,771	3,350
Jan - Mar 2019/20	2,894	2,759
Apr - Jun 2020/21	2,610	1,514
Jul - Sep 2020/21	2,613	2,252
Oct - Dec 2020/21	2,779	2,879
Jan - Mar 2020/21	2,831	2,467
Apr - Jun 2021/22	2,581	2,322
Jul - Sep 2021/22	2,692	2,125
Oct - Dec 2021/22	2,729	2,212
Jan - Mar 2021/22	2,670	2,302
Apr - Jun 2022/23	2,809	2,043
Jul - Sep 2022/23	2,626	2,073

Table B: s78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type from 2016/17

Quarter and Year	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
Apr - Jun 2016/17	31%	45%	56%	32%
Jul - Sep 2016/17	32%	35%	60%	32%
Oct - Dec 2016/17	33%	38%	54%	34%
Jan - Mar 2016/17	31%	44%	54%	33%
Apr - Jun 2017/18	29%	41%	51%	30%
Jul - Sep 2017/18	30%	41%	52%	31%
Oct - Dec 2017/18	31%	46%	43%	32%
Jan - Mar 2017/18	32%	48%	36%	33%
Apr - Jun 2018/19	30%	48%	51%	32%
Jul - Sep 2018/19	30%	48%	45%	32%
Oct - Dec 2018/19	26%	33%	51%	27%
Jan - Mar 2018/19	28%	36%	38%	29%
Apr - Jun 2019/20	26%	51%	52%	27%
Jul - Sep 2019/20	23%	37%	42%	24%
Oct - Dec 2019/20	22%	42%	43%	23%
Jan - Mar 2019/20	22%	47%	48%	24%
Apr - Jun 2020/21	21%	37%	25%	21%
Jul - Sep 2020/21	24%	41%	55%	25%
Oct - Dec 2020/21	25%	37%	58%	26%
Jan - Mar 2020/21	25%	35%	53%	26%
Apr - Jun 2021/22	30%	34%	55%	31%
Jul - Sep 2021/22	27%	42%	58%	28%
Oct - Dec 2021/22	27%	41%	62%	28%
Jan - Mar 2021/22	28%	32%	53%	29%
Apr - Jun 2022/23	27%	35%	57%	29%
Jul - Sep 2022/23	25%	53%	58%	28%

Table C: s78 planning appeals, number allowed by procedure type from 2016/17

Quarter and Year	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
Apr - Jun 2016/17	822	88	45	955
Jul - Sep 2016/17	885	58	50	993
Oct - Dec 2016/17	802	63	35	900
Jan - Mar 2016/17	803	71	35	909
Apr - Jun 2017/18	701	56	35	792
Jul - Sep 2017/18	732	61	41	834
Oct - Dec 2017/18	768	72	23	863
Jan - Mar 2017/18	811	65	33	909
Apr - Jun 2018/19	679	62	29	770
Jul - Sep 2018/19	683	63	23	769
Oct - Dec 2018/19	666	44	24	734
Jan - Mar 2018/19	702	38	21	761
Apr - Jun 2019/20	877	62	31	970
Jul - Sep 2019/20	805	55	24	884
Oct - Dec 2019/20	684	67	27	778
Jan - Mar 2019/20	541	87	32	660
Apr - Jun 2020/21	304	19	2	325
Jul - Sep 2020/21	537	17	6	560
Oct - Dec 2020/21	695	38	22	755
Jan - Mar 2020/21	588	39	16	643
Apr - Jun 2021/22	633	40	39	712
Jul - Sep 2021/22	536	40	29	605
Oct - Dec 2021/22	553	41	24	618
Jan - Mar 2021/22	600	31	36	667
Apr - Jun 2022/23	512	39	34	585
Jul - Sep 2022/23	486	62	28	576

14. Background notes

14.1 Data sources

Horizon / Picaso – The main casework management systems used for processing appeals casework (note that Picaso is no longer a live system).

SAP HR – The Human Resources system database used to store all information regarding members of staff.

14.2 Compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

These statistics have been published in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics, which cover trustworthiness, quality, and value. They have been pre-announced, and publication is overseen by the Head of Profession.

14.3 Technical Notes

A Background Quality Report is published alongside this Statistical Release. It provides more detail on the quality of statistics in this publication.

Term	Explanation
Data quality	Data on cases is taken from a live casework system, and details of cases can change for a number of reasons even after a decision has been made. We are seeking to get a better understanding of the nature and volume of these changes and will provide further information as it is available.
Data quality	We carry out regular checks on the quality of our data and may undertake ad hoc data cleansing exercises.  Therefore, all the data for the last 12 rolling months is published in provisional form.
Data quality	We have indicated in this publication any data where a number of cases has changed by more than five cases in a month; or where a measure (mean, median or standard deviation) has changed by more than 0.5 weeks.
Measuring weeks	Data are measured in days and then converted to weeks.
Measuring weeks	Note that not all decimal values are possible where converting days to weeks. 1 day is 1/7 of a week, or 0.14 weeks (to two decimal places). 2 days = 0.29; 3 days = 0.43; 4 days = 0.57; 5 days = 0.71; 6 days = 0.86.
Measuring weeks	When these are used to calculate averages, or displayed to one decimal place, the result will not equate to a full day which can be misleading: it may appear that we are measuring part days (e.g. 19.8 weeks) but we only measure in whole days.

15. Glossary

Term	Explanation
Appeals	The right to appeal a planning decision made by a local authority is a key feature of the planning system, as is appealing when an authority is taking too long.
Appeals decided	Number of appeals by the date the appeal was decided by The Planning Inspectorate.
Appeals received	Number of appeals by the date the appeal was received by The Planning Inspectorate.
Applications	Planning Inspectorate manage the application process for proposed Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) within England and Wales in line with the 2008 Planning Act.
Closed	The total number of appeals decided, withdrawn, or turned away.
Decision	The outcome of the case e.g. appeal allowed or rejected. The date of the decision is taken as the date a decision letter is sent to the appellant.
Event	A site visit, hearing, or inquiry (may be virtual)
Event Type	The different options of how an Inspector visits a site for a written representations appeal.
Examinations	The process of examining local plans is dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate. Every Local Planning Authority is required to have a local plan.  This includes a vision for the future and plan to address housing needs in the area.
Examinations	When a Local Planning Authority has finished preparing and consulting on a local plan it must be submitted to the Secretary of State who appoints an Inspector to carry out an independent examination.
FTE	Full Time Equivalent – a count of employees where those working part time are counted in proportion with their contracted hours.
Headcount	Total number of staff employed regardless of how many hours they work (i.e. the number of different individuals).
Hearings	A hearing involves the submission of written evidence by the main parties and a hearing once all the written submissions have been received.
Hearings	This takes the form of a round-the-table discussion (in person or virtually) that will be led by the planning inspector. It allows for all parties to respond to any questions that the inspector might have, and to let everyone make their case known.
Hearings	Source: Planning Portal
Inquiries	An inquiry is usually used for complex cases where legal issues may need to be considered. The main parties will usually have legal representatives to present their case and to cross-examine any witnesses. Prior to the inquiry date, the Planning Inspectorate will expect to have received various documents from all parties that will be taking part in the appeal. These may include statements of case and proofs of evidence from expert witnesses. Third parties may also take part. The inquiry will be led by the inspector and will follow a formal procedure.
Inquiries	At some point during or on conclusion of the inquiry the inspector and the main parties will undertake a site visit.
Inquiries	Source: Planning Portal
Live appeals	Number of live appeals in that have an appeal valid date but no end date (either decision date or a closed date, e.g. for appeals that have been withdrawn).
Mean	The total time taken divided by the number of cases. Also referred to as the ‘average’. A measure of how long each case would take, if the total time taken was spread evenly across all cases.
Median	This is the time taken by the ‘middle’ case if all cases were sorted from quickest to longest
Open Cases	Number of cases that have been received but on which a decision has not yet been made/ issued. Will differ from Live Appeals as it includes those received but not yet verified.
Procedure Type	The method by which The Planning Inspectorate processes and decides appeals.
Standard deviation	This is a measure of variability or spread. It is calculated by examining how much each value differs from the mean. A higher standard deviation means the individual decision times vary more widely around the mean.
Written Representations	Most planning appeals are decided by the written representations’ procedure. With this procedure the Inspector considers written evidence from the appellant, the LPA and anyone else who has an interest in the appeal. The site is also likely to be visited.

16. Contact Us

The Planning Inspectorate welcome feedback on our statistical products. If you have any comments or questions about this publication or about our statistics in general, you can contact us as follows:

Media enquiries 0303 444 5004 email press.office@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Public enquiries email statistics@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

Please note we are currently reviewing our statistics with a view to making them as clear and helpful as possible for users. We would be delighted if you could contact us via the address below with any views on this approach; particularly on what content would be most useful and why.

email statistics@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

If you require information which is not available within this or other available publications, you may wish to submit a Request for Information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the Planning Inspectorate.