Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 19 May 2022

Published 19 May 2022

Applies to England

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.

Over recent months Planning Inspectorate 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 casetype records. This has resulted in a break in the series for open cases and events at February 2022 and April 2022 respectively, meaning that statistics from that date onwards can not be meaningfully compared with statistics before that date. In addition, past received and decided statistics now include specialist casework types that we were previously unable to count. Any changes to the data as a result will be presented as revisions.

These statistics are produced each month and the focus is on timeliness, 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 May 2021 to April 2022 - The time taken to reach decisions - Number of open cases - Number of Inspectors

The Planning Inspectorate

The Planning Inspectorate makes decisions and provides recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across England. We do this in a fair, open, and timely way.

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.

Summary

Time to decide cases

The median time to decide a case in April 2022 was 24 weeks. The median time to decide was around 22 weeks during May 2021, and has increased to 24 weeks and over for the last 8 months.

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

Procedure type	Last 12 months	April 2022
Written Representations	23 weeks	24 weeks
Hearings	53 weeks	108 weeks
Inquiries	60 weeks	40 weeks
All Cases	24 weeks	26 weeks

The median time for planning cases was at or above 20 weeks for each of the last 12 months; and 24 weeks or more for the last eight months. Across the whole year, the median time to decision is 23 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in the last 12 months had a median decision time of 37 weeks.

For each of the last 12 months Specialist cases have been decided more quickly than Enforcement cases.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process over the 12 months to April 2022 is 31 weeks. This is quicker than other types of casework decided by inquiry.

Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,576 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,465 per month. The number of decisions in April 2022 was lower than average, 1,260 decisions were issued.

There were 1,161 written representations decisions in April 2022; and 16,429 in the last 12 months. Pre-pandemic levels were approximately between 1,600 and 2,000 decisions per month.

There were 642 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, and during April 2022, 67 decisions were issued. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month.

There were 505 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 32 in April 2022. Decisions for inquiries since May 2021 have ranged between 18 and 60. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

Planning Inspectors

There were 355 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in April 2022 with a full-time equivalent of 317.

Decisions, Events and Open Cases

Planning Inspectorate has a new process and software in place for scheduling casework. Data on events is being obtained from a different source from April 22 onwards and as a result statistics from that date onwards can not be meaningfully compared with statistics before that date. Further, it is possible that current events data is incomplete as staff transition to this new admin system. We will review this each month going forward and make any revisions required in future editions of this publication.

The number of decisions issued in April 2022 was 1,260; a decrease on 654 decisions compared to March 2022.

The number of events recorded for April 2022 was 1048 which is much lower than usual and it may be that some events have been missed in our reporting due to a recent change in the admin system that we use for this data.

The median time to decide a case during April 2022 was 25.7 weeks, 0.9 of a week higher than March 2022. The median time to decide was around 22 weeks at the start of the reporting period, and has increased to 24 – 27 weeks over the past 8 months.

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

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System

Note: The process and admin system used for events data has changed from April 2022

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

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

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Events held	1,558	1,661	1,312	1,239	1,535	1,278	1,706	1,025	1,584	1,799	1,826	1,048	17,571
Decisions	1,506	1,527	1,303	1,212	1,545	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,366	1,669	1,914	1,260	17,576
Median weeks	22.0	21.9	21.3	23.9	24.3	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.8	25.7	24.1

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System.

See the section on Decision timeliness for more, including definitions of the average measures used in this release.

A site visit, hearing, or inquiry. From January 2022 onwards hearings and inquiries have been held in person.

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 casetype 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; May 2021 to April 2022

Surce: 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; May 2021 to April 2022

Note 1: This table includes revisions to previously published data. Please see Annex E for further information

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

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Received	1,679	1,804	1,772	1,784	1,824	1,763	1,945	1,754	1,708	1,716	1,820	1,621	21,190
Closed	1,662	1,730	1,494	1,360	1,734	1,427	1,785	1,696	1,554	1,891	2,164	1,437	19,934
Open Cases: all casework	11,723	11,761	11,975	12,510	12,557	12,857	12,997	13,131	13,328	13,381	13,063	13,273

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,576 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,260 cases decided in April 2022 which is less than the 12 month average of 1,465 per month. This may be attributable to the Easter break and an annual corporate event held at the start of April. Table 3 below shows the monthly breakdown with fewer decisions for the months of July, August, October and April 2022.

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; May 2021 to April 2022

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Decisions	1,506	1,527	1,303	1,212	1,545	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,366	1,669	1,914	1,260	17,576

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Figure 3 – Appeal Decisions; May 2021 to April 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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 (16,429) 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 1,161 decisions in April 2022.

There were 642 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 54. During April 2022 67 decisions were issued. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month. In April 32 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries since May 2021 have ranged between 18 and 60. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; May 2021 to April 2022

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Written Representations	1,390	1,391	1,201	1,105	1,475	1,186	1,457	1,398	1,251	1,597	1,817	1,161	16,429
Hearings	64	80	65	51	40	32	47	53	55	37	51	67	642
Inquiries	52	56	37	56	30	18	51	32	60	35	46	32	505
Total	1,506	1,527	1,303	1,212	1,545	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,366	1,669	1,914	1,260	17,576

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Planning	1,285	1,268	1,077	970	1,365	1,033	1,330	1,262	1,109	1,414	1,614	989	14,716
Enforcement	161	198	179	187	148	153	193	160	208	222	253	175	2,237
Specialist	60	61	47	55	32	50	32	61	49	33	47	96	623
Total	1,506	1,527	1,303	1,212	1,545	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,366	1,669	1,914	1,260	17,576

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? This category covers a wide range of different types of casework including Common Land, Environment, Purchase Notice, Rights of Way orders (including Schedule 14 cases), Tree Preservation Orders, Hedgerows and High Hedges cases.

The large majority of cases were planning (14,716). This is about eighty-four per cent of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,237 enforcement decisions and 623 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 186. 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 to a high of 96 in April. The high number of cases decided in the last month is 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; May 2021 to April 2022

Appeals by Procedure

Appeals by Casework Type

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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 24 weeks. Figure 5 shows the median has been above 21 weeks for the last 12 months; and has generally been higher since August 21.

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 29 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; May 2021 to April 2022

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Valid to Decision  (median weeks)	22.0	21.9	21.3	23.9	24.3	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.8	25.7	24.1
Valid to Decision  (mean weeks)	26.2	28.3	27.3	31.0	28.6	31.0	30.6	29.4	31.8	28.3	30.4	31.3	29.3
Standard Deviation (weeks)	16.7	19.7	18.5	23.3	16.7	19.0	21.3	17.7	22.0	17.6	23.8	24.7	20.2

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; May 2021 to April 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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.

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 large values than mean times, so are the focus of this commentary. The median time for written representations over the 12 months to March 2022 is 23 weeks; the last seven months have longer median time to decision than the previous five months. The median time for inquiries over the 12 months to April 2022 is just under 60 weeks. The median time for decisions for hearings was much higher than usual in April 2022 due to decisions having being issued on a large number of linked appeals of a complex nature.

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

Note 1: where the number of decisions issued is fewer than 20, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to the number of inquiries in October 2021.

Key: WR= Written Representations; HRG= Hearings; INQ= Inquiries; All= All Cases

Measure	Procedure	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	21.1	20.7	20.4	23.0	23.6	25.9	24.4	24.9	25.4	24.1	24.1	24.4	23.1
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	39.6	61.3	43.6	43.9	50.4	53.6	47.9	53.1	64.1	45.7	52.9	108.3	52.9
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	66.0	64.6	79.0	95.0	35.6	50.4	84.9	40.6	90.9	57.3	42.1	40.4	59.7
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	22.0	21.9	21.3	23.9	24.3	26.4	25.4	25.4	26.9	24.7	24.8	25.7	24.1
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	24.1	25.0	24.5	27.2	27.3	29.6	27.9	27.7	28.1	27.0	28.8	27.3	26.9
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	42.9	57.0	50.0	49.8	57.1	57.2	60.8	61.2	75.7	57.5	60.6	89.1	60.5
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	61.7	70.9	77.5	87.7	56.5	77.6	82.3	47.3	69.4	60.7	60.7	57.2	68.4
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	26.2	28.3	27.3	31.0	28.6	31.0	30.6	29.4	31.8	28.3	30.4	31.3	29.3
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	14.0	13.9	13.3	16.0	14.0	16.4	15.5	15.0	15.3	15.0	21.7	17.2	15.9
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	18.4	21.7	19.8	27.5	27.5	22.9	38.6	32.0	43.8	33.1	27.3	38.3	32.2
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	26.1	42.8	43.8	47.1	40.8	50.9	43.8	30.0	30.5	35.4	45.8	45.6	41.1
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	16.7	19.7	18.5	23.3	16.7	19.0	21.3	17.7	22.0	17.6	23.8	24.7	20.2
Decisions	Written Representations	1,390	1,391	1,201	1,105	1,475	1,186	1,457	1,398	1,251	1,597	1,817	1,161	16,429
Decisions	Hearings	64	80	65	51	40	32	47	53	55	37	51	67	642
Decisions	Inquiries	52	56	37	56	30	18	51	32	60	35	46	32	505
Decisions	Total	1,506	1,527	1,303	1,212	1,545	1,236	1,555	1,483	1,366	1,669	1,914	1,260	17,576

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.

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 was above 20 weeks for the last 12 months; and above 23 weeks for the last seven months. Across the 12 month period, the median time to decision is 23 weeks for these cases.

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

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

Appeal Type	Measure	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	21.6	20.7	20.4	23.0	23.6	25.3	24.6	24.6	25.3	24.2	23.6	25.0	23.1
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	24.4	25.2	24.4	26.2	26.9	28.3	27.2	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.8	26.7	26.2
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	13.0	15.2	13.7	14.7	13.5	13.6	14.1	13.7	16.2	13.9	15.1	15.3	14.4
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	28.3	38.9	32.3	41.6	33.2	34.0	39.9	39.1	37.5	31.3	44.3	48.0	37.0
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	40.6	45.9	42.7	54.5	40.7	43.6	53.5	45.0	49.5	40.2	57.3	59.5	48.2
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	28.9	29.8	29.4	38.3	26.3	30.2	37.6	26.4	32.4	26.7	39.9	40.8	33.5
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	15.9	28.0	22.4	17.7	27.7	32.1	19.7	27.1	29.4	24.9	26.9	12.7	23.1
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	24.7	36.6	33.6	34.4	46.8	48.9	36.4	40.8	41.6	38.4	44.4	27.4	36.5
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	21.6	27.7	27.1	29.6	35.7	36.6	40.7	32.5	37.0	36.6	43.4	30.0	33.3

Source: Horizon and Picaso.

Annex B 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 37 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 longer than the median for planning decisions. Throughout the period shown, specialist cases have been decided quicker than enforcement.

Figure 6 – Median Time to Decision by Casework Category: May 2021 to April 2022

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 C for further details.

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 over the 12 months to April 2022 is 31 weeks.The median time to decision for April 2022 was 34 weeks.

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

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

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Decisions	16	30	11	13	19	8	19	14	21	23	22	15	211
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	30.1	33.9	29.1	25.1	26.9	43.2	28.6	27.4	31.9	42.1	30.0	33.6	31.1
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	34.3	40.7	32.0	39.6	30.5	40.0	36.8	29.2	37.8	47.0	35.5	36.0	38.4
Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	9.9	22.1	12.0	44.5	10.7	13.5	18.7	8.5	19.6	19.7	14.2	13.3	21.4

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; May 2021 to April 2022

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Decisions	4	7	2	3	1	0	0	3	2	0	3	3	28

Source: Horizon

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

Figure 7: Mean, Median Time to Decision, Rosewell Inquiry Process; May 2021 to April 2022

Open Cases

At the end of April 2022, the Planning Inspectorate had over thirteen thousand cases open (13,273). This is higher than the previous month; the number of open cases has been rising through the year. 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 11,471 cases being handled through written representations; 1,013 through hearings; and 671 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 April 2022

Stage	WR	HRG	INQ	Total
Case received but yet to be deemed valid	1,118	73	1	1,192
Case deemed valid but yet to “start”	2,774	154	71	3,074
Case started but event (site visit/ hearing/ inquiry) has not yet happened	6,209	626	488	7,356
Event has happened/ started but decision not yet issued	1,370	160	111	1,650
Total	11,471	1,013	671	13,273

Source: Horizon

Note there are 118 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.

Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from May 2021 to April 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 357 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in April 2022 – with a full-time equivalent of 319.

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

Month	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22
Headcount	353	349	347	346	345	351	360	361	360	357	357	355
FTE	314.4	310.8	308.4	307.8	306.6	314.0	323.2	322.8	320.9	318.9	319.1	316.6

Source: SAP HR

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 E and the separate Background Quality Report.

Annex A - Content of ad-hoc Statistical Releases, 2021-22

Note: The Table below covers ad-hoc statistical releases. From November 2020 onwards, the content is fixed, so is the same as this publication, apart from the following: from November 2021 data on virtual events is no longer included in the release.

Date	Mar-20	Apr-20	Jul-20	Sep-20	Oct-20	Apr-22
Content	Appeals receipts and decisions in the last 12 and 24 months (1st March 2018 – 29th February 2020)	Appeals receipts and decisions between 17th March 2020 and 22nd April 2020	Appeals decisions between 17th March 2020 and 22nd June 2020	Appeals decisions between 17th March 2020 and 21st September 2020	Appeals decisions from October 2019 to September 2020	Appeals decisions from May 2021 to April 2022
Content	Number of section 78 Planning Appeals received / decided / within target that used the written representation method in the last 12 months (1st March 2019 – 29th February 2020)	Live appeals in the system as at 23rd April 2020	Number of open cases	Number of open cases	Number of open cases	Number of open cases
Content	Number of dwellings decided, and number of dwellings allowed by appeal decisions between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2019.	Number of appeals involving housing within the system as at 23rd April 2020	Number of virtual events	Number of virtual events	Number of virtual events
Content	Number of Planning Inspectors employed by the Planning Inspectorate at the end of each quarter between 31st March 2017 and 31st December 2019.	Virtual site visits	Number of appeals
Content			involving housing within the system as at 12th June 2020
Scope	England only	England only	England only	England only	England only	England only
Scope	Planning cases, Enforcement cases and Rights of Way orders	Planning cases, Enforcement cases and Rights of Way orders	Planning cases, Enforcement cases and Rights of Way orders	Planning cases, Enforcement cases and Rights of Way orders	Planning cases, Enforcement cases, Specialist cases: Common Land, Rights of Way orders, Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals and Hedgerow appeals	Planning cases, Enforcement cases, Specialist cases: Common Land, Rights of Way orders, Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals and Hedgerow appeals.
Scope						New appeal types have been added to the statistical release: Wayleaves, Compulsary Purchase Orders, Transport, Secetary of State, ERP and Coastal Access.

Annex B: Mean and median time to decisions, with standard deviation, for planning, enforcement and specialist casework.

Planning

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

Planning	Measure	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	1,214	1,192	1,021	917	1,323	1,000	1,274	1,204	1,053	1,361	1,553	938	14,050
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	21.0	19.9	19.7	22.4	23.1	25.0	24.1	24.2	24.7	23.9	23.1	24.3	22.7
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	23.4	23.5	23.3	25.2	26.2	27.5	26.3	25.8	26.5	25.4	25.0	25.2	25.1
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	11.7	11.9	11.3	12.0	12.3	12.7	12.0	11.5	12.4	12.5	14.3	12.3	12.3
Hearings	Decisions	51	39	43	37	22	25	37	41	33	30	36	33	427
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	37.4	45.4	42.0	37.4	50.4	54.3	45.9	49.4	55.9	43.6	48.8	52.7	46.6
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	40.7	49.2	42.7	41.3	54.7	54.7	54.3	56.7	70.7	51.5	52.8	63.0	52.1
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	18.9	20.7	16.5	18.6	24.0	20.6	34.1	29.7	39.0	27.0	20.0	34.7	27.1
Inquiries	Decisions	20	37	13	16	20	8	19	17	23	23	25	18	239
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	32.9	36.9	30.9	30.0	27.9	43.2	28.6	23.9	31.9	42.1	28.0	34.8	33.0
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	44.8	53.5	53.5	50.3	36.6	40.0	36.8	29.1	41.0	47.0	35.6	37.7	43.6
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	23.5	37.3	51.6	53.9	28.8	13.5	18.7	10.5	25.4	19.7	15.1	13.4	30.3
All Cases	Decisions	1,285	1,268	1,077	970	1,365	1,033	1,330	1,262	1,109	1,414	1,614	989	14,716
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	24.4	25.2	24.4	26.2	26.9	28.3	27.2	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.8	26.7	26.2
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	21.6	20.7	20.4	23.0	23.6	25.3	24.6	24.6	25.3	24.2	23.6	25.0	23.1
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.0	15.2	13.7	14.7	13.5	13.6	14.1	13.7	16.2	13.9	15.1	15.3	14.4

• The median time to decision for planning written representations was 1.2 weeks higher in April 2022 compared to March 2022.
• The standard deviation of time to decision for planning written representations has varied between 11.3 weeks and 14.3 weeks over the past 12 months.
• The median for planning hearings during April 2022 increased by 3.9 weeks compared to March 2022
• The median for planning inquiries during April 2022 increased by 6.8 weeks compared to March 2022

Enforcement

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

Enforcement	Measure	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	118	140	137	139	122	139	156	137	155	205	225	132	1,805
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	24.9	29.6	26.0	35.4	28.1	32.7	31.6	37.4	31.7	28.7	42.3	36.6	30.7
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	31.5	33.3	32.2	40.0	33.8	38.7	42.1	41.5	37.2	36.9	54.7	44.6	39.5
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	25.6	17.9	19.6	25.8	16.8	22.4	28.2	23.9	22.1	22.1	39.0	29.1	26.5
Hearings	Decisions	12	39	22	11	18	7	9	10	19	6	11	31	195
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	45.2	61.6	67.3	56.0	50.8	53.0	55.3	60.5	66.7	55.7	63.0	118.9	65.0
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	50.9	62.6	64.1	70.7	60.0	66.1	82.7	71.6	81.8	72.3	64.9	111.8	74.2
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.6	18.5	17.9	34.2	31.1	27.9	46.6	33.7	47.4	36.3	22.5	19.0	33.3
Inquiries	Decisions	31	19	20	37	8	7	28	13	34	11	17	12	237
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	71.3	104.9	90.6	104.1	101.6	117.6	107.6	60.9	87.3	84.0	86.0	88.5	90.5
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	66.0	108.0	92.9	122.3	94.5	147.4	118.3	48.0	90.9	71.9	58.3	49.3	90.9
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	21.4	30.7	35.0	34.9	32.0	52.2	26.8	27.1	15.4	44.0	48.0	60.7	36.2
All Cases	Decisions	161	198	179	187	148	153	193	160	208	222	253	175	2,237
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	28.3	38.9	32.3	41.6	33.2	34.0	39.9	39.1	37.5	31.3	44.3	48.0	37.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	40.6	45.9	42.7	54.5	40.7	43.6	53.5	45.0	49.5	40.2	57.3	59.5	48.2
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	28.9	29.8	29.4	38.3	26.3	30.2	37.6	26.4	32.4	26.7	39.9	40.8	33.5

• The mean and median measures for enforcement written representation decisions show considerable variation month to month but no clear trend. The median for April 2022 reduced by 5.7 weeks compated to March 2022.
• The time to decision for enforcement hearings and inquiries is generally more than twice the time for written representation decisions. The median for hearings during April was 118.9 weeks.
• Enforcement hearings show variable trends for all three measures; mean, median and standard deviation. There are smaller numbers of decisions for this casework / procedure group that can influence these measures.
• Enforcement inquiries are generally taking longer than they were a year ago. As with planning hearings, the effect of the pandemic is evident in these measures. Also, this grouping can be disproportionately affected by cases that involve multiple linked appeals (for example multiple people served an enforcement notice by a local authority appeal to The Planning Inspectorate, each person appealing is treated as a separate appeal, but all appeals are decided in one decision letter by one Inspector).

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

Specialist	Measure	May 21	Jun 21	Jul-21	Aug-21	Sep-21	Oct-21	Nov-21	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	58	59	43	49	30	47	27	57	43	31	39	91	574
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	15.4	26.9	21.0	17.3	24.3	30.4	17.3	24.9	29.0	23.0	22.9	11.3	21.4
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	22.8	34.5	28.3	28.6	44.9	46.6	21.3	36.1	35.0	32.0	29.3	23.2	31.2
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	18.9	25.4	21.7	24.7	36.1	35.5	14.7	27.5	30.1	27.6	23.4	22.1	27.0
Hearings	Decisions	1	2	0	3	0	0	1	2	3	1	4	3	20
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	60.0	100.8	-	95.0	-	-	101.9	101.9	130.1	149.1	127.9	141.0	106.8
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	60.0	100.8	-	78.3	-	-	101.9	101.9	93.2	149.1	118.7	141.5	104.3
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	0.0	7.1	-	31.5	-	-	0.0	26.2	58.0	0.0	22.9	15.4	37.0
Inquiries	Decisions	1	0	4	3	2	3	4	2	3	1	4	2	29
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	100.0	-	94.3	88.4	75.2	105.3	113.4	113.9	95.1	119.7	109.4	44.8	92.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	100.0	-	90.2	84.6	75.2	84.7	121.7	113.9	84.0	119.7	110.0	44.8	94.0
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	0.0	-	9.6	11.5	8.2	33.7	43.4	15.6	29.6	0.0	61.3	1.6	37.4
All Cases	Decisions	60	61	47	55	32	50	32	61	49	33	47	96	623
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	15.9	28.0	22.4	17.7	27.7	32.1	19.7	27.1	29.4	24.9	26.9	12.7	23.1
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	24.7	36.6	33.6	34.4	46.8	48.9	36.4	40.8	41.6	38.4	44.4	27.4	36.5
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	21.6	27.7	27.1	29.6	35.7	36.6	40.7	32.5	37.0	36.6	43.4	30.0	33.3

• The number of decisions for Specialist cases is low (see Table 4), and this makes it less easy to identify trends for Specialist cases decided by hearings and inquiries.
• The highest volume of decisions is against Written Representations, and over the last 12 months the volume and time measures see variable trends.
• The time to decision for specialist hearings and inquiries is generally more than twice the time for written representation decisions.
• The median for time to specialist written representation decision varies between 11 weeks (April 22) and 30 weeks (October 21).

Annex C - Detailed information on timeliness (April 2022)

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

Note: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to the 15 enforcement appeals managed through hearings and 12 managed through inquiries.

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

Measure	s78 Written Representations [Note 1]	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	12.0	10.1	3.3	2.4
Mean (average)	11.6	16.9	2.6	3.9
Cases that started in April 2022	814	53	51	385
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (average)	9.9	25.7	14.1	8.3
Mean (average)	11.7	34.7	17.0	10.0
Cases where an event occurred during April 2022	527	29	11	307
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	3.6	5.6	10.1	2.7
Mean (average)	4.7	5.1	13.5	3.6
Cases that have been decided in April 2022	474	28	13	340

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.

Annex D - Casework types included in this release

Planning covers s78 planning appeals, Householder appeals, Commercial appeals, s20 Listed Building appeals, Advertisement appeals, s106 Planning Obligation appeals and Called In Planning Applications.

Enforcement covers s174 Enforcement appeals, s39 Enforcement Listed Building appeals and Lawful Development Certificate appeals.

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

Annex E

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 2	Open Cases March 2022
Table 6	Median weeks: Inquiries November 2021;
Table 6	Median weeks: Hearings December 2021;
Table 6	Mean weeks: Inquiries November 2021 and March 2022;
Table 6	Standard deviation: Inquiries November 2021 and March 2022.
Table 7	Mean weeks: Specialist Casework November 2021;
Table 7	Standard deviation: Specialist casework November 2021;
Table 7	Median weeks: Specialist casework February 2022;
Table 7	Standard deviation: Specialist casework February 2022
Table 7	Mean weeks: Specialist casework March 2022;
Table 7	Standard deviation: Specialist casework March 2022.
Annex B	Planning Hearings: Decisions December 2021;
Annex B	Planning Hearings: Median weeks December 2021;
Annex B	Enforcement Written Representations: Decisions June 2021;
Annex B	Enforcement Written Representations: Decisions March 2022;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Written Representations: Decisions January 2022;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Written Representations: Decisions February 2022;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Written Representations: Median weeks February 2022;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Decisions November 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Median November 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Mean November 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Standard deviation November 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Decisions March 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Median March 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Mean March 2021;
Annex B	Specialist Casework Inquiries: Standard deviation March 2021

Background Notes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.