Reforms to the statutory consultee system

From:: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Published: 18 November 2025

Applies to England

Summary

We are seeking views on reforming the role of statutory consultees in the planning system in England.

This consultation ran from
12:01am on 18 November 2025 to 11:59pm on 13 January 2026

Consultation description

Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues.

However, local planning authorities and developers report that the statutory consultee system is not working effectively.

This consultation seeks views on reforming the role of statutory consultees in the planning system and covers the following proposals:

removing statutory consultee status from certain bodies
reviewing the scope of what statutory consultees advise on
improving performance management across existing statutory consultee bodies in the planning system

Documents