Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 20 July 2023

Published 20 July 2023

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 Planning Inspectorate’s work.

These statistics are produced each month and the focus is on timeliness of decision-making, an area of particular interest for stakeholders. 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 July 2022 to June 2023
• 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.

1.2 Summary

Time to decide cases

The median decision time for cases decided in June was 32 weeks.

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

Procedure type	Last 12 months	June  2023
Written Representations	29 weeks	31 weeks
Hearings	49 weeks	35 weeks
Inquiries	55 weeks	34 weeks
All Cases	29 weeks	32 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 30 weeks in June 2023, with the 12 month median being 27 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in June 2023 had a median decision time of 53 weeks, with the 12 month median being 56 weeks.

The median time for planning appeals decided by inquiry under the Rosewell Process over the 12 months to June 2023 is 29 weeks.

1.3 Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate made 17,750 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,479 per month. The number of decisions in June 2023 was 1,492.

There were 1,402 written representations decisions in June 2023 and 16,326 in the last 12 months.

There were 889 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, and during June 2023, 62 decisions were issued.

There were 525 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 28 in June 2023.

1.4 Planning Inspectors

There were 426 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate at the end of June 2023.

2. Decisions, Events & Open Cases

The number of decisions issued in June 2023 was 1,492, a monthly average of 1,479 over the past 12 months.

The number of events recorded for June 2023 was 1,515, the average over the past 12 months was 1,385.

The median valid to decision time was 32 weeks in June 2023, as seen in Figure 1 and Table 1 below.

There are no clear trends for the number of events and decisions per month. However, the Christmas and Easter breaks do impact on the number of events arranged during December and April.

Figure 1: Number of events held , decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

Table 1: Number of events held, decisions issued and median time between valid date & decision date; July 2022 to June 2023

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

Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Events Held	1,221	1,419	1,377	1,302	1,667	945	1,726	1,547	1,304	1,144	1,456	1,515	16,623
Decisions	1,424	1,473	1,261	1,457	1,579	1,539	1,469	1,619	1,684	1,309	1,444	1,492	17,750
Median	25.9	26.9	29.0	28.7	30.7	30.4	31.1	28.7	29.3	29.1	30.1	31.6	29.4

Source: Horizon

Figure 2 below shows the number of cases received, closed and open for each of the last 12 months.

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; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

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.

Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; July 2022 to June 2023

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

Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Received	1,744	1,679	1,776	1,831	1,881	1,601	1,674	1,569	1,907	1,447	1,751	1,571	20,431
Closed	1,609	1,677	1,429	1,672	1,811	1,722	1,702	1,793	1,879	1,449	1,622	1,814	20,179
Open	14,220	14,262	14,556	14,796	14,862	14,750	14,740	14,498	14,504	14,502	14,635	14,444

Source: Horizon

3. Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,750 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,492 cases decided in May 2023.

Table 3 below shows the monthly breakdown with fewer decisions for the months of June and September 2022 and April 2023.

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

3.1 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 (16,326) were made on written representations. This is 92% of all appeal decisions made. Table 4 shows that written representation decisions have varied from around 1,150 to over 1,500 per month over the past 12 months. There were 1,492 decisions in June 2023.

There were 899 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 75. During June 2023 62 decisions were issued. In June 2023 28 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries since May 2022 have ranged between 24 and 80.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; July 2022 to June 2023

Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Written Representations	1,336	1,354	1,169	1,373	1,457	1,337	1,329	1,496	1,533	1,225	1,315	1,402	16,326
Hearings	62	39	68	53	90	156	64	77	83	56	89	62	899
Inquiries	26	80	24	31	32	46	76	46	68	28	40	28	525
Total	1,424	1,473	1,261	1,457	1,579	1,539	1,469	1,619	1,684	1,309	1,444	1,492	17,750
Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Planning	1,170	1,156	1,011	1,259	1,336	1,288	1,225	1,398	1,394	1,113	1,196	1,258	14,804
Enforcement	166	224	184	142	174	192	184	169	238	140	150	175	2,138
Specialist	88	93	66	56	69	59	60	52	52	56	98	59	808
Total	1,424	1,473	1,261	1,457	1,579	1,539	1,469	1,619	1,684	1,309	1,444	1,492	17,750

Source: Horizon

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 served by a local planning authority for alleged breaches of planning control), 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 (excluding receipts and open cases), 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 over the past 12 months were planning (14,804). This is about 83% of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,138 enforcement decisions and 808 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 178. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a high of 93 in August 2022 to a low of 52 in February and March 2023.

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; July 2022 to June 2023

Appeal Decisions by Procedure

Appeal Decisions by Casework Type

Source: Horizon

4. Decision timeliness

It is important for people to know how long an appeal is going to take, so that they can make informed plans and decisions. 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 29 weeks; and 32 weeks for June 2023. Figure 5 shows the median has been between 25 and 32 weeks for each of the last 12 months.

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. This means that any delay in ‘validating’ the appeal is included in the time to make a decision.

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 appeals submitted, or deemed ‘valid’ in that month, will take.

Table 5 also shows the mean decision time for the last 12 months is 36 weeks. Each month the median is less than the mean, due to the impact of very long cases. Also included in the table is the standard deviation of decision timeliness, which is a measure of variation.

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; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

4.1 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 roughly 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 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 June 2023 is 29 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to June 2023 is 49 weeks. The median time to decide for inquiries over the 12 months to June 2023 was 55 weeks.

Table 6: Mean and Median Time to Decision, with Standard Deviation, by Procedure; July 2022 to June 2023

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

Measure	Procedure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	25.1	26.0	28.4	28.4	30.1	29.0	29.7	27.8	28.1	28.6	29.9	31.4	28.6
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	58.2	63.0	41.4	40.9	51.1	54.4	60.0	45.0	48.0	37.2	57.0	35.4	48.6
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	29.6	68.6	36.5	29.6	41.1	38.6	74.4	58.0	179.6	79.1	38.4	33.6	55.0
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	25.9	26.9	29.0	28.7	30.7	30.4	31.1	28.7	29.3	29.1	30.1	31.6	29.4
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	30.3	30.6	32.8	32.5	34.8	32.7	33.3	31.9	34.1	33.7	34.4	34.9	33.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	85.3	67.8	51.7	45.1	56.7	58.8	62.0	53.6	58.5	50.1	71.3	46.9	59.1
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	58.6	67.6	62.3	44.3	58.4	42.1	73.6	76.0	137.8	79.6	71.2	56.8	73.8
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	33.3	33.6	34.4	33.2	36.5	35.6	36.7	34.2	39.5	35.4	37.7	35.8	35.6
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	20.8	19.1	20.2	18.6	19.7	17.9	18.1	17.5	20.7	20.0	20.3	19.0	19.4
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	55.6	43.1	31.6	24.8	34.5	35.6	31.3	38.3	42.1	30.1	53.0	30.8	40.0
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	53.7	30.6	54.9	40.8	43.4	18.3	50.6	54.6	89.1	40.7	57.2	40.7	59.0
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	27.0	23.2	22.8	19.8	22.4	21.9	24.1	22.6	35.1	22.4	27.4	20.6	24.6
Decisions	Written Representations	1,336	1,354	1,169	1,373	1,457	1,337	1,329	1,496	1,533	1,225	1,315	1,402	16,326
Decisions	Hearings	62	39	68	53	90	156	64	77	83	56	89	62	899
Decisions	Inquiries	26	80	24	31	32	46	76	46	68	28	40	28	525
Decisions	Total	1,424	1,473	1,261	1,457	1,579	1,539	1,469	1,619	1,684	1,309	1,444	1,492	17,750

Source: Horizon

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.

4.2 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 25 weeks and above for each of the last twelve months.

Table 7: Decisions, Mean, Median and Standard Deviation of Time to Decision – Planning, Enforcement, Specialist Cases; July 2022 to June 2023

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

Appeal Type	Measure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	25.0	25.1	27.0	27.4	29.1	28.9	28.3	26.1	26.1	26.9	28.7	29.9	27.3
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	29.1	28.7	30.8	30.6	33.0	31.4	31.5	30.7	31.5	32.2	33.4	32.5	31.3
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	20.4	17.7	18.3	15.9	17.6	16.0	16.3	17.8	18.6	20.0	22.3	17.7	18.3
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	42.2	58.6	44.7	44.1	52.1	62.5	63.4	54.0	67.6	57.9	58.4	53.1	56.0
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	56.8	56.1	51.1	50.5	59.6	62.0	67.9	59.3	85.8	60.0	68.9	56.2	61.9
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	40.9	29.6	29.3	26.7	32.3	31.6	36.6	35.3	62.0	26.6	40.9	21.4	38.2
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	24.9	30.6	29.4	34.6	34.7	26.9	36.7	38.2	27.4	37.2	35.7	32.9	33.0
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	44.5	41.3	43.2	47.0	48.3	41.8	46.0	45.9	42.4	38.9	42.8	45.4	43.8
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	41.2	30.4	37.5	39.8	34.7	31.3	32.7	28.6	38.2	18.3	26.4	34.0	33.4

Source: Horizon

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 past 12 months had a median decision time of 56 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: July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

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.

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 June 2023 is 29 weeks and the median time to decision for June 2023 was 30 weeks.

Table 8: Decisions, Mean and Median Time to Decision, Planning Inquiry Cases under Rosewell Process; July 2022 to June 2023

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

Measure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Decisions	13	18	11	22	19	38	22	15	18	9	20	16	221
Median (weeks)	23.3	26.0	28.6	25.9	29.4	38.6	28.6	31.7	29.4	24.9	28.6	29.9	29.4
Mean (weeks)	23.9	30.9	29.5	29.1	38.0	36.9	31.0	40.2	33.5	34.9	30.5	34.0	33.1
St. Dev. (weeks)	4.6	14.0	9.4	11.0	20.8	6.5	10.3	29.2	13.4	20.2	8.9	26.6	15.9

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; July 2022 to June 2023

Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Decisions	2	3	0	1	1	1	3	5	3	3	0	0	22

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; July 2022 to June 2023

Source: Horizon

5. Open Cases

At the end of May 2023, the Planning Inspectorate had 14,444 cases open. 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 12,972 cases being handled through written representations; 783 through hearings; and 631 through inquiries, as well as 58 not currently allocated a procedure type. 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 June 2023

Stage	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	Total
Cases received but yet to be deemed valid	2,467	31	2	2,502
Cases deemed valid but yet to ‘start’	2,522	139	90	2,804
Case started but event (site visit/hearing/inquiry) has not yet happened	7,955	597	521	9,074
Event has happened/started  but decision not yet issued	28	16	18	64
Total	12,972	783	631	14,444

Source: Horizon

Note 1 - there are 58 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.

6. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from July 2022 to June 2023 . 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 426 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in April 2023 – with a full-time equivalent of 382.

Table 11: Planning Inspectors – Headcount and FTE; June 2022 to May 202 July 2022 to June 2023 (at end of month)

Month	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23
Headcount	378	376	388	391	390	390	406	409	421	419	420	426
FTE	337.7	335.0	346.2	348.9	348.3	348.3	363.2	365.3	377.4	375.5	376.8	381.9

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 Planning and Appeal Decision Suppliers (previously referred to as non-salaried Inspectors).

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 the number of cases have changed by more than five, or the timeliness measures have changed by greater than 0.5 weeks, this is indicated – more minor changes are made but not noted. 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.

7. 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.

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.

Number of appeals received compared to decisions issued.

In the last twelve months, July 2022 to June 2023, there have been 10,338 Section 78 planning appeals (s78) received, 5.2% lower than for the period July 2021 to June 2022.

In the last five financial years (April 2018 to June 2023) the highest level of quarterly receipts (3,203) occurred in April to June 2019 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 2,585 and the average number of decisions per quarter was 2,328.

The number of appeals received in April to June 2023 (2,522) was 10.2% lower than the same period in 2022. Appeal receipts since the pandemic started average 2,666 per quarter (April 20 to June 23). During 2019, the last 4 quarters before the pandemic, the Inspectorate received an average of 2,923 appeals per quarter.

Figure 8: Number of s78 Planning appeal, receipts and decisions, 2018/19 to 2023/24, 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 issued in April to June 2023, was 13.3% lower than the previous quarter but 6.6% more than the corresponding quarter last year.

7.1 Appeals Allowed

The percentage of Section 78 planning appeals that were allowed in the latest quarter was 30%, the same as in the previous quarter (see figure 9) There were 643 appeals allowed between April and June 2023, 100 less than in the previous quarter.(see Figure 11).

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 10 below for further details.

Figure 9: S78 planning appeals, percentage allowed, 2018/19 to 2023/24, 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, 2018/19 to 2023/24, 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, 2018/19 to 2023/24, 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 

8. Annex A - Mean and median time to decision, 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. This applies to July, September 2022, April and June 2023 for inquiries decisions

Planning	Measure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	1,109	1,108	954	1,195	1,253	1,167	1,161	1,324	1,313	1,062	1,114	1,188	13,948
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	24.4	24.9	26.9	27.4	29.0	28.0	28.1	26.0	25.9	26.6	28.5	29.7	27.1
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	26.9	27.9	30.1	30.3	32.3	30.3	30.9	29.9	30.6	31.5	31.9	31.9	30.4
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	13.9	15.7	17.2	15.6	16.4	14.3	15.3	15.9	17.0	18.7	18.2	16.5	16.3
Hearings	Decisions	46	27	46	41	63	82	39	54	60	39	62	54	613
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	55.9	42.6	38.6	32.0	39.0	34.5	44.7	25.4	41.6	27.0	40.2	32.6	38.1
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	81.2	55.4	46.1	39.7	44.8	43.1	48.5	41.9	48.2	42.7	61.4	44.9	49.4
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	55.3	43.0	30.8	23.1	30.1	29.6	27.5	31.5	32.8	30.6	52.9	30.6	37.5
Inquiries	Decisions	15	21	11	23	20	39	25	20	21	12	20	16	243
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	24.0	26.0	28.6	25.9	29.4	38.6	29.7	32.5	31.1	28.8	28.6	29.9	29.9
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	29.4	37.5	29.5	28.5	41.2	38.6	35.6	55.5	42.0	56.6	30.5	34.0	38.1
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	14.8	27.2	9.4	11.1	24.6	12.4	19.2	41.4	30.9	43.9	8.9	26.6	25.4
All Cases	Decisions	1,170	1,156	1,011	1,259	1,336	1,288	1,225	1,398	1,394	1,113	1,196	1,258	14,804
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	25.0	25.1	27.0	27.4	29.1	28.9	28.3	26.1	26.1	26.9	28.7	29.9	27.3
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	29.1	28.7	30.8	30.6	33.0	31.4	31.5	30.7	31.5	32.2	33.4	32.5	31.3
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	20.4	17.7	18.3	15.9	17.6	16.0	16.3	17.8	18.6	20.0	22.3	17.7	18.3

Enforcement

Note: where there are fewer than 20 decisions, the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to all months for hearing other than November and December 2022 and March and May 2023 and all months for inquiry decisions other than August 2022 and January, February and March 2023.

Enforcement	Measure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	153	164	159	128	145	118	122	130	176	114	112	161	1,682
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	39.6	40.0	44.4	39.7	49.3	53.8	53.5	47.9	58.1	53.1	56.7	52.9	49.9
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	53.0	46.3	48.1	49.0	54.1	54.1	56.7	50.6	60.7	53.6	56.6	54.1	53.0
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	36.3	25.3	23.4	26.9	28.5	27.8	23.6	20.5	24.8	22.0	24.5	17.6	25.9
Hearings	Decisions	10	6	14	11	20	71	15	17	21	12	24	7	228
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	75.0	99.6	39.7	53.7	93.0	68.1	74.7	73.6	69.3	69.9	78.9	57.3	68.1
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	107.1	101.1	57.5	64.6	85.5	75.2	80.8	87.9	84.1	70.5	96.0	64.0	80.3
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	64.4	25.4	30.0	22.2	19.6	33.1	22.3	40.8	50.1	17.8	47.9	29.5	38.3
Inquiries	Decisions	3	54	11	3	9	3	47	22	41	14	14	7	228
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	52.7	68.6	62.3	67.6	58.6	45.1	82.0	72.6	224.3	114.2	149.3	101.3	82.0
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	81.7	80.9	85.9	61.2	89.2	63.4	92.9	89.0	194.1	103.3	120.8	98.2	109.0
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	43.7	22.2	62.5	12.2	57.6	28.7	51.4	61.9	62.9	23.2	63.3	39.2	64.2
All Cases	Decisions	166	224	184	142	174	192	184	169	238	140	150	175	2,138
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	42.2	58.6	44.7	44.1	52.1	62.5	63.4	54.0	67.6	57.9	58.4	53.1	56.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	56.8	56.1	51.1	50.5	59.6	62.0	67.9	59.3	85.8	60.0	68.9	56.2	61.9
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	40.9	29.6	29.3	26.7	32.3	31.6	36.6	35.3	62.0	26.6	40.9	21.4	38.2

Specialist

Note 1: 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.

Specialist	Measure	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Dec-22	Jan-23	Feb-23	Mar-23	Apr-23	May-23	Jun-23	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	74	82	56	50	59	52	46	42	44	49	89	53	696
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	23.1	27.5	25.9	33.7	31.3	26.9	30.8	31.9	24.1	35.0	34.1	31.4	30.3
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	35.0	37.2	36.3	41.0	41.9	36.6	33.5	38.0	33.5	36.3	38.3	43.0	37.6
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	30.3	27.6	33.2	30.6	29.5	26.2	20.4	20.7	24.6	16.4	22.4	34.1	27.2
Hearings	Decisions	6	6	8	1	7	3	10	6	2	5	3	1	58
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	76.4	82.6	67.5	50.4	66.3	85.1	88.5	53.9	99.1	47.7	77.9	38.9	72.4
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	80.7	90.5	73.5	50.4	82.0	101.4	86.6	61.3	99.1	58.7	78.6	38.9	78.3
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	24.4	28.4	27.5	0.0	42.3	33.5	27.1	23.2	55.9	24.0	11.3	0.0	32.4
Inquiries	Decisions	8	5	2	5	3	4	4	4	6	2	6	5	54
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	133.2	35.6	112.9	126.7	91.1	48.1	73.8	111.6	69.9	51.9	97.5	68.3	73.1
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	104.7	50.4	112.9	106.9	80.0	60.0	85.0	106.1	88.7	51.9	91.3	71.7	85.9
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	65.7	22.5	51.2	66.6	27.6	31.1	41.7	26.3	58.3	3.0	23.6	23.9	48.6
All Cases	Decisions	88	93	66	56	69	59	60	52	52	56	98	59	808
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	24.9	30.6	29.4	34.6	34.7	26.9	36.7	38.2	27.4	37.2	35.7	32.9	33.0
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	44.5	41.3	43.2	47.0	48.3	41.8	46.0	45.9	42.4	38.9	42.8	45.4	43.8
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	41.2	30.4	37.5	39.8	34.7	31.3	32.7	28.6	38.2	18.3	26.4	34.0	33.4

9. Annex B - Detailed Information of timeliness (June 2023)

The information below is published today on the number and length of decisions made in June 2023 :

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

Casework Type	Procedure Type	Median (weeks)	Mean (weeks)	Decisions
s78 planning appeals	Written Representations	33.1	36.6	719
s78 planning appeals	Hearings	32.6	44.7	50
s78 planning appeals	Inquiries	29.9	34.0	16
Householder appeals	Written Representations	17.7	22.0	373
Enforcement appeals	Written Representations	52.9	54.1	161
Enforcement appeals	Hearings	57.3	64.0	7
Enforcement appeals	Inquiries	101.3	98.2	7

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:

Measure	s78 Written Representations [Note 1]	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	14.7	4.1	1.9	7.7
Mean (average)	16.2	5.7	2.1	8.1
Cases that started in May 2023	881	38	22	477
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (average)	12.6	14.9	15.1	7.4
Mean (average)	17.8	23.8	16.3	10.7
Cases where an event occurred during May 2023	792	55	26	337
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	5.0	5.0	9.1	3.9
Mean (average)	6.5	8.7	10.0	4.3
Cases that have been decided in May 2023	678	44	15	369

Explanation of date

Date	Explanation
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

10. 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	Event held: May 2023
Table 2	Received: May 2023
Table 2	Closed: December 2022
Table 2	Open: May, April and May 2023
Table 6	Median valid to decision hearings: February 2023
Table 6	Median valid to decision inquiry: March 2023
Table 6	Mean valid to decision hearings: April 2023
Table 6	Mean valid to decision inquiries: March 2023
Table 7	Median valid to decision specialist casework: February, March and May 2023
Table 7	Mean valid to decision specialist casework: December 2022, March and April 2023
Table 7	Standard deviation specialist casework: December 2022 and April 2023
Annex A	Mean valid to decision specialist casework mean weeks written represenations: December 2022 and March 2023
Annex A	Standard deviation specialist casework written representations: December 2022 and March 2023
Annex A	Median valid to decision specialist casework hearings: November 2022 and April 2023.
Annex A	Mean valid to decision specialist casework hearings: November 2022 and April 2023.
Annex A	Standard deviation specialist casework hearings: November 2022 and April 2023.
Annex A	Median valid to decision specialist casework inquiries: March 2023
Annex A	Mean valid to decision specialist casework inquiries: March 2023
Annex A	Standard deviation valid to decision specialist casework inquiries: March 2023

11. Annex D - Quarterly Statistics

Table A: s78 planning appeals received and decided, by quarter since 2018/19

Year	Quarter	received	decided
2018/19	Apr - Jun	3,104	2,428
2018/19	Jul - Sep	3,192	2,431
2018/19	Oct - Dec	3,074	2,739
2018/19	Jan - Mar	2,867	2,665
2019/20	Apr - Jun	3,203	3,540
2019/20	Jul - Sep	2,849	3,705
2019/20	Oct - Dec	2,771	3,350
2019/20	Jan - Mar	2,894	2,759
2020/21	Apr - Jun	2,610	1,514
2020/21	Jul - Sep	2,613	2,252
2020/21	Oct - Dec	2,781	2,879
2020/21	Jan - Mar	2,833	2,467
2021/22	Apr - Jun	2,581	2,320
2021/22	Jul - Sep	2,692	2,124
2021/22	Oct - Dec	2,729	2,212
2021/22	Jan - Mar	2,671	2,295
2022/23	Apr - Jun	2,810	2,025
2022/23	Jul - Sep	2,584	2,059
2022/23	Oct - Dec	2,656	2,606
2022/23	Jan - Mar	2,576	2,489
2023/24	Apr - Jun	2,522	2,159

11.1 ANNEX D, Table B: s78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2018/19 to 2022/24

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2018/19	Apr - Jun	30%	48%	51%	32%
2018/19	Jul - Sep	30%	48%	45%	32%
2018/19	Oct - Dec	26%	34%	51%	27%
2018/19	Jan - Mar	28%	36%	38%	29%
2019/20	Apr - Jun	26%	51%	52%	27%
2019/20	Jul - Sep	23%	37%	42%	24%
2019/20	Oct - Dec	22%	42%	43%	23%
2019/20	Jan - Mar	22%	47%	48%	24%
2020/21	Apr - Jun	21%	37%	25%	21%
2020/21	Jul - Sep	24%	41%	55%	25%
2020/21	Oct - Dec	25%	37%	58%	26%
2020/21	Jan - Mar	25%	35%	53%	26%
2021/22	Apr - Jun	30%	34%	55%	31%
2021/22	Jul - Sep	27%	43%	58%	28%
2021/22	Oct - Dec	27%	41%	62%	28%
2021/22	Jan - Mar	28%	32%	54%	29%
2022/23	Apr - Jun	27%	34%	58%	29%
2022/23	Jul - Sep	26%	54%	65%	28%
2022/23	Oct - Dec	26%	51%	61%	28%
2022/23	Jan - Mar	28%	44%	61%	30%
2023/24	Apr - Jun	28%	40%	57%	30%

11.2 ANNEX D, Table C: s78 planning appeals, percentage allowed by procedure type, 2018/19 to 2023/24

Year	Quarter	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	All
2018/19	Apr - Jun	679	62	29	770
2018/19	Jul - Sep	683	63	23	769
2018/19	Oct - Dec	666	44	24	734
2018/19	Jan - Mar	702	38	21	761
2019/20	Apr - Jun	877	62	31	970
2019/20	Jul - Sep	805	55	24	884
2019/20	Oct - Dec	684	67	27	778
2019/20	Jan - Mar	541	87	32	660
2020/21	Apr - Jun	304	19	2	325
2020/21	Jul - Sep	537	17	6	560
2020/21	Oct - Dec	695	38	22	755
2020/21	Jan - Mar	588	39	16	643
2021/22	Apr - Jun	632	40	39	711
2021/22	Jul - Sep	536	40	29	605
2021/22	Oct - Dec	553	41	24	618
2021/22	Jan - Mar	595	31	37	663
2022/23	Apr - Jun	509	37	33	579
2022/23	Jul - Sep	484	61	31	576
2022/23	Oct - Dec	602	90	49	741
2022/23	Jan - Mar	638	66	39	743
2023/24	Apr - Jun	555	61	27	643

12. Background notes

12.1 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.

12.2 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.

12.3 Technical Notes

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

	Definition
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.

13. 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.

14. 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.