Official Statistics

Planning Inspectorate statistical release 22 December 2022

Published 22 December 2022

Applies to England

1. Introduction

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

These statistics are produced each month and the focus is on timeliness of decision-making, 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 December 2021 to November 2022
• The time taken to reach decisions
• Number of open cases
• Number of Inspectors

1.1 The Planning Inspectorate

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

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

2. Summary

2.1 Time to decide cases

The median decision time for cases decided in November 2022 was 31 weeks. During recent months performance for hearings and inquiries has improved due to additional Inspector resource being used to improve performance in these areas; as a result the number of open written representations cases has increased causing longer decision times.

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

Procedure type	Last 12 months	November 2022
Written Representations	26 weeks	30 weeks
Hearings	56 weeks	51 weeks
Inquiries	47 weeks	41 weeks
All Cases	27 weeks	31 weeks

The median time for planning cases was 29 weeks in November 2022, the highest for the past 12 months. The median in the past 12 months is 26 weeks.

Enforcement decisions made in November had a median decision time of 52 weeks, with the 12 month median being 44 weeks.

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

2.2 Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate made 17,478 appeal decisions in the last 12 months, an average of 1,457 per month. The number of decisions in November 2022 was 1,576, over 100 more decisions than the 12 months average.

There were 1,453 written representations decisions in November 2022; and 16,292 in the last 12 months. Pre-pandemic levels were approximately between 1,600 and 2,000 decisions per month.

There were 717 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, and during November 2022, 91 decisions were issued, the highest number of decisions over the past 12 months. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month.

There were 469 decisions made on inquiries during the last 12 months, with 32 in November 2022. Decisions for inquiries since September 2021 have ranged between 32 and 78. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

2.3 Planning Inspectors

There were 390 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in November 2022 with a full-time equivalent of 348.

3. Decisions, Events and Open Cases

The number of decisions issued in November 2022 was 1,576, over 100 more than the average number of decisions per month over the past 12 months.

The number of events recorded for November 2022 was 1,738, the average over the past 12 months was 1,357.

There has been a steady rise in the median valid to decision time, infrom 25 weeks in December 2021 the median average time to decision was was 25 weeks this has rise by 6 weeks to 31 weeks in November 2022, 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. This is a known trend.

The median time to decide a case during November 2022 was 31 weeks, 2 weeks higher than October 2022. The median time to decide time has been between 25 – 31 weeks over the past 12 months .

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

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System

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

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

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

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Events Held	938	1,426	1,633	1,573	1,036	1,302	1,220	1,227	1,446	1,405	1,338	1,738	16,282
Decisions	1,483	1,369	1,666	1,905	1,250	1,413	1,193	1,426	1,473	1,265	1,459	1,576	17,478
Median	25.4	27.0	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	27.0	25.9	26.9	29.1	28.7	30.6	26.9

Source: Horizon, Picaso, Inspector Scheduling System.

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

Figure 2 below shows the number of cases received, closed and open for each of the last 12 months. The number of open cases has been rising over recent months, because most months more cases are received than closed.

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; December 2021 to November 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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

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

Table 2: Number of cases received, closed and open; December 2021 to November 2022

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

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

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Received	1,758	1,711	1,718	1,829	1,633	1,974	1,712	1,699	1,643	1,729	1,796	1,821	21,023
Closed	1,677	1,548	1,877	2,147	1,416	1,638	1,392	1,603	1,669	1,428	1,670	1,801	19,866
Open	13001	13242	13294	12976	13184	13498	13880	13977	13968	14243	14450	14477

Source: Horizon and Picaso

4. Number of Decisions

The Planning Inspectorate has made 17,478 appeal decisions in the last 12 months. There were 1,576 cases decided in November which is just over 100 more decisions than October 2022. Table 3 below shows the monthly breakdown with fewer decisions for the months of April, June and September 2022 .

Table 3: Appeal Decisions; December 2021 to November 2022

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Decisions	1,483	1,369	1,666	1,905	1,250	1,413	1,193	1,426	1,473	1,265	1,459	1,576	17,478

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Figure 3 – Appeal Decisions; November 2021 to October 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

4.1 Decisions by procedure and case type

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

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

The large majority of decisions (16,292) 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 1,453 decisions in November 2022.

There were 717 decisions made on hearings during the last 12 months, the monthly average being 60 During November 2022 91 decisions were issued, the highest number of decisions over the past 12 months. Pre-pandemic levels for hearing decisions were between 50 and 100 decisions per month. In November 2022 32 decisions were made for inquiries. Decisions for inquiries since December 2021 have ranged between 25 and 78. Pre-pandemic levels for inquiry decisions were between 15 and 90 decisions per month.

Table 4: Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; December 2021 to November 2022

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Written Representations	1,398	1,249	1,594	1,809	1,154	1,289	1,106	1,338	1,356	1,172	1,374	1,453	16,292
Hearings	53	55	37	50	65	89	52	63	39	69	54	91	717
Inquiries	32	65	35	46	31	35	35	25	78	24	31	32	469
Total	1,483	1,369	1,666	1,905	1,250	1,413	1,193	1,426	1,473	1,265	1,459	1,576	17,478
Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Planning	1,262	1,107	1,409	1,604	980	1,147	1,007	1,172	1,159	1,016	1,263	1,337	14,463
Enforcement	160	213	220	253	174	215	138	167	224	184	142	176	2,266
Specialist	61	49	37	48	96	51	48	87	90	65	54	63	749
Total	1,483	1,369	1,666	1,905	1,250	1,413	1,193	1,426	1,473	1,265	1,459	1,576	17,478

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 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, High Hedges appeals, Hedgerow appeals, Wayleave, Compulsory Purchase Orders, Secretary of State, Transport, Environmental Permitting Appeals and Coastal Access. Additional casework types have been added to this category over time.

The large majority of cases were planning (14,463). This is about eighty-three per cent of all appeal decisions made. There were 2,266 enforcement decisions and 749 specialist decisions. These totals are also shown in Table 4 above and Figure 4 below.

Trends for planning decisions show similar patterns to written representations. The average number of enforcement decisions over the past 12 months was 189. March 22 had the most enforcement decisions of the last 12 months. Specialist casework figures continue to vary each month, from a low of 37 in February 2022 to a high of 96 in April 2022. The high number of cases decided in April was partly attributable to a large group of linked cases that were responded to at the same time.

Figure 4 – Appeal Decisions by Procedure and Casework Category; December 2021 to November 2022

Appeal Decisions by Procedure

Appeal Decisions by Casework Type

Source: Horizon and Picaso

5. Decision Timeliness

It is important for people to know how long an appeal is going to take, so that they can make 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 27 weeks; and 31 weeks for October 2022. Figure 5 shows the median has been between 25 and 31 weeks for each of the last 12 months; and has been increasing.

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.

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; December 2021 to November 2022

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	25.4	27.0	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	27.0	25.9	26.9	29.1	28.7	30.6	26.9
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	29.4	31.9	28.3	30.5	31.3	36.2	32.8	33.3	33.7	34.4	33.2	36.4	32.5
Standard Deviation (weeks)	17.7	22.1	17.6	24.0	24.8	31.2	25.1	27.0	23.1	22.8	19.8	22.1	23.4

Source: Horizon and Picaso

Figure 5: Median and mean Time to Decision; December 2021 to November 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

5.1 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 more thanroughly twice as long on average across the last 12 months. Because 19 of every 20 cases are by written representation, the timeliness measures for written representations are similar to the measure across all cases. Decision times for written representations were at their highest level for the 12 month period in November 2022.

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 November 2022 is 26 weeks. The median time for hearings over the 12 months to October 2022 is 56 weeks and 47 weeks for inquiries.

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

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

Measure	Procedure	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Written Representations	24.9	25.4	24.1	24.1	24.4	27.0	26.1	25.1	26.1	28.6	28.4	30.1	26.0
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Hearings	53.1	64.1	45.7	52.8	108.3	94.0	59.1	58.4	63.0	41.1	40.0	51.0	56.0
Valid to decision (median weeks)	Inquiries	40.6	68.7	57.3	42.1	38.4	44.3	39.6	31.1	68.6	36.5	29.6	41.1	47.3
Valid to decision (median weeks)	All Cases	25.4	27.0	24.7	24.9	25.7	28.0	27.0	25.9	26.9	29.1	28.7	30.6	26.9
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Written Representations	27.7	28.1	27.0	28.9	27.2	30.4	29.7	30.3	30.7	32.9	32.5	34.6	30.0
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Hearings	61.2	75.7	57.5	60.5	90.8	112.3	87.4	84.9	67.8	51.4	44.5	55.9	72.6
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	Inquiries	47.3	68.9	60.7	60.7	57.7	57.7	49.9	60.6	68.0	62.3	44.3	58.4	59.7
Valid to decision (mean weeks)	All Cases	29.4	31.9	28.3	30.5	31.3	36.2	32.8	33.3	33.7	34.4	33.2	36.4	32.5
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Written Representations	15.0	15.3	15.1	21.9	17.2	18.3	17.1	20.8	19.0	20.1	18.6	19.4	18.5
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Hearings	32.0	43.8	33.1	27.5	37.6	59.8	62.7	55.2	43.1	31.5	24.9	34.5	47.7
Standard Deviation (weeks)	Inquiries	30.0	29.4	35.4	45.8	46.2	36.7	35.8	53.8	30.6	54.9	40.8	43.4	39.7
Standard Deviation (weeks)	All Cases	17.7	22.1	17.6	24.0	24.8	31.2	25.1	27.0	23.1	22.8	19.8	22.1	23.4
Decisions	Written Representations	1,398	1,249	1,594	1,809	1,154	1,289	1,106	1,338	1,356	1,172	1,374	1,453	16,292
Decisions	Hearings	53	55	37	50	65	89	52	63	39	69	54	91	717
Decisions	Inquiries	32	65	35	46	31	35	35	25	78	24	31	32	469
Decisions	Total	1,483	1,369	1,666	1,905	1,250	1,413	1,193	1,426	1,473	1,265	1,459	1,576	17,478

Source: Horizon and Picaso.

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

5.2 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 above 24 weeks for the last twelve months; and 25 weeks or more for the last seven months.

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

Appeal Type	Measure	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	24.6	25.3	24.3	23.6	24.9	27.0	26.0	25.0	25.1	27.0	27.4	29.1	25.7
Planning Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.7	26.6	30.3	29.2	29.1	28.7	30.8	30.6	33.0	28.7
Planning Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	13.7	16.3	13.9	15.0	15.3	21.6	17.9	20.5	17.6	18.2	15.9	17.6	17.1
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	39.1	38.7	31.1	44.6	48.0	56.1	40.9	42.1	58.6	44.7	44.1	52.0	44.1
Enforcement Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	45.0	49.8	39.9	57.5	59.7	66.6	56.3	56.5	56.1	51.1	50.5	59.2	54.1
Enforcement Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	26.4	32.1	26.7	39.8	40.8	50.0	47.0	41.0	29.6	29.3	26.7	32.2	36.7
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (median wks)	27.1	29.4	26.0	27.2	12.7	27.7	29.8	24.7	30.9	29.4	35.4	33.7	28.1
Specialist Cases	Valid to decision (mean wks)	40.8	41.6	39.5	46.7	27.4	41.0	40.9	45.0	41.9	43.8	47.9	45.3	41.2
Specialist Cases	Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	32.5	37.0	36.4	45.5	30.0	34.6	27.1	41.5	29.6	37.4	40.3	31.8	35.8

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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

Enforcement decisions made in the last 12 months had a median decision time of 44 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: December 2021 to November 2022

Source: Horizon and Picaso

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

5.3 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 November 2022 is 29 weeks and the median time to decision for November 2022 was 29 weeks.

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

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

Month	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Decisions	14	21	23	22	14	24	22	13	18	11	23	19	224
Valid to Decision (median weeks)	27.4	31.9	42.1	30.0	30.2	32.1	30.9	23.3	26.0	28.6	26.0	29.4	29.0
Valid to Decision (mean weeks)	29.2	37.8	47.0	35.5	35.5	41.6	31.6	23.9	30.9	29.5	29.1	38.0	35.0
Standard deviation of decision (weeks)	8.5	19.6	19.7	14.2	13.6	19.2	11.4	4.6	14.0	9.4	10.8	20.8	16.5

Source: Horizon

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

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

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

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22	Total
Decisions	3	2	0	3	3	1	1	2	3	0	1	1	20

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; December 2021 to November 2022

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.

Source: Horizon

6. Open Cases

At the end of November 2022, the Planning Inspectorate had 14,477 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 12,761 cases being handled through written representations; 934 through hearings; and 704 through inquiries, as well as 76 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 November 2022

Stage	Written Representations	Hearings	Inquiries	Total
Cases received but yet to be deemed valid	1,954	68	4	2,026
Cases deemed valid but yet to ‘start’	3,070	103	80	3,301
Case started but event (site visit/hearing/inquiry) has not yet happened	7,633	700	506	8,866
Event has happened/started  but decision not yet issued	104	63	114	284
Total	12,761	934	704	14,477

Source: Horizon

Note 1 - there are 76 cases that have no procedure type recorded (see Background Quality Report for more detail) These are included in the total but excluded from the breakdown by procedure.

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

7. Inspectors

Table 11 below shows the number of inspectors in the Planning Inspectorate in each month from December 2021 to November 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 390 Planning Inspectors employed by the Inspectorate in November 2022 – with a full-time equivalent of 348.

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

Month	Dec 21	Jan 22	Feb 22	Mar 22	Apr 22	May 22	Jun 22	Jul 22	Aug 22	Sep 22	Oct 22	Nov 22
Headcount	361	360	357	357	355	365	371	378	376	388	391	390
FTE	322.8	320.9	318.9	319.1	316.6	325.9	331.5	337.7	335.0	346.2	348.9	348.3

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).

8. Revisions to previous release

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

9. 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 November and December 2021 and April, July and September 2022 for inquiries decisions.

Measure	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Decisions	1,204	1,051	1,356	1,544	932	1,079	947	1,110	1,111	958	1,197	1,254	13,743
Median Average Weeks	24.2	24.7	23.9	23.1	24.2	26.3	25.3	24.4	25.0	26.9	27.4	29.0	25.3
Mean Average Weeks	25.8	26.5	25.3	25.0	25.2	27.6	27.7	26.9	27.9	30.1	30.4	32.2	27.5
Standard Deviation Weeks	11.5	12.4	12.5	14.3	12.2	13.8	14.5	13.9	15.7	17.1	15.6	16.4	14.4
Decisions	41	33	30	35	31	43	37	47	27	47	42	63	476
Median Average Weeks	49.4	55.9	43.6	48.4	53.0	61.4	51.1	55.9	42.6	38.3	31.9	39.0	49.1
Mean Average Weeks	56.7	70.7	51.5	52.5	64.8	90.0	66.4	80.8	55.4	45.8	39.1	44.8	59.4
Standard Deviation Weeks	29.7	39.0	27.0	20.2	34.9	58.4	41.6	54.8	43.0	30.5	23.1	30.1	40.9
Decisions	17	23	23	25	17	25	23	15	21	11	24	20	244
Median Average Weeks	23.9	31.9	42.1	28.0	33.7	33.6	31.0	24.0	26.0	28.6	25.9	29.4	29.4
Mean Average Weeks	29.1	41.0	47.0	35.6	37.4	45.3	33.2	29.4	37.5	29.5	28.5	41.2	36.9
Standard Deviation Weeks	10.5	25.4	19.7	15.1	13.7	26.1	13.4	14.8	27.2	9.4	10.8	24.6	20.2
Decisions	1,262	1,107	1,409	1,604	980	1,147	1,007	1,172	1,159	1,016	1,263	1,337	14,463
Median Average Weeks	24.6	25.3	24.3	23.6	24.9	27.0	26.0	25.0	25.1	27.0	27.4	29.1	25.7
Mean Average Weeks	26.8	28.1	26.3	25.7	26.6	30.3	29.2	29.1	28.7	30.8	30.6	33.0	28.7
Standard Deviation Weeks	13.7	16.3	13.9	15.0	15.3	21.6	17.9	20.5	17.6	18.2	15.9	17.6	17.1

Enforcement

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

Enforcement	Measure	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	137	155	203	225	131	165	119	154	164	159	128	145	1,885
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	37.4	31.7	28.6	42.6	36.7	45.7	37.3	39.0	40.0	44.4	39.7	49.3	38.0
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	41.5	37.2	36.6	55.0	44.8	47.6	43.1	52.7	46.3	48.1	49.0	54.1	46.5
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	23.9	22.1	21.9	38.9	29.1	28.6	24.2	36.3	25.3	23.4	26.9	28.5	29.0
Hearings	Decisions	10	19	6	11	31	43	11	10	6	14	11	22	194
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	60.5	66.7	55.7	63.0	118.9	170.3	223.7	75.0	99.6	39.7	53.7	93.0	93.0
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	71.6	81.8	72.3	64.9	111.8	136.5	165.3	107.1	101.1	57.5	64.6	80.4	100.7
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	33.7	47.4	36.3	22.5	19.0	52.8	70.8	64.4	25.4	30.0	22.2	24.7	51.7
Inquiries	Decisions	13	39	11	17	12	7	8	3	54	11	3	9	187
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	48.0	90.9	71.9	58.3	49.3	78.0	96.1	52.7	68.6	62.3	67.6	58.6	68.6
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	60.9	84.1	84.0	86.0	88.5	86.7	103.3	81.7	80.9	85.9	61.2	89.2	82.9
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	27.1	16.9	44.0	48.0	60.7	37.2	35.9	43.7	22.2	62.5	12.2	57.6	37.5
All Cases	Decisions	160	213	220	253	174	215	138	167	224	184	142	176	2,266
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	39.1	38.7	31.1	44.6	48.0	56.1	40.9	42.1	58.6	44.7	44.1	52.0	44.1
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	45.0	49.8	39.9	57.5	59.7	66.6	56.3	56.5	56.1	51.1	50.5	59.2	54.1
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	26.4	32.1	26.7	39.8	40.8	50.0	47.0	41.0	29.6	29.3	26.7	32.2	36.7

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.

Specialist	Measure	Dec-21	Jan-22	Feb-22	Mar-22	Apr-22	May-22	Jun-22	Jul-22	Aug-22	Sep-22	Oct-22	Nov-22	Total
Written Representations	Decisions	57	43	35	40	91	45	40	74	81	55	49	54	664
Written Representations	Median Average Weeks	24.9	29.0	24.9	24.1	11.3	23.6	25.8	22.6	27.9	26.0	33.9	30.9	25.1
Written Representations	Mean Average Weeks	36.1	35.0	33.9	32.4	23.2	34.2	38.1	35.1	38.1	37.0	41.4	38.2	34.6
Written Representations	Standard Deviation Weeks	27.5	30.1	28.9	29.8	22.1	27.6	27.1	30.5	26.7	33.1	30.7	23.7	28.4
Hearings	Decisions	2	3	1	4	3	3	4	6	6	8	1	6	47
Hearings	Median Average Weeks	101.9	130.1	149.1	127.9	141.0	90.9	75.1	76.4	82.6	67.5	50.4	60.6	79.0
Hearings	Mean Average Weeks	101.9	93.2	149.1	118.7	141.5	85.7	68.0	80.7	90.5	73.5	50.4	83.6	90.0
Hearings	Standard Deviation Weeks	26.2	58.0	0.0	22.9	15.4	29.0	14.7	24.4	28.4	27.5	0.0	45.5	37.5
Inquiries	Decisions	2	3	1	4	2	3	4	7	3	2	4	3	38
Inquiries	Median Average Weeks	113.9	95.1	119.7	109.4	44.8	80.9	43.9	165.6	35.6	112.9	128.7	91.1	86.0
Inquiries	Mean Average Weeks	113.9	84.0	119.7	110.0	44.8	94.1	39.1	118.5	48.8	112.9	126.5	80.0	92.5
Inquiries	Standard Deviation Weeks	15.6	29.6	0.0	61.3	1.6	47.2	13.6	58.4	18.7	51.2	60.3	27.6	53.3
All Cases	Decisions	61	49	37	48	96	51	48	87	90	65	54	63	749
All Cases	Median Average Weeks	27.1	29.4	26.0	27.2	12.7	27.7	29.8	24.7	30.9	29.4	35.4	33.7	28.1
All Cases	Mean Average Weeks	40.8	41.6	39.5	46.7	27.4	41.0	40.9	45.0	41.9	43.8	47.9	45.3	41.2
All Cases	Standard Deviation Weeks	32.5	37.0	36.4	45.5	30.0	34.6	27.1	41.5	29.6	37.4	40.3	31.8	35.8

10. Annex B - detailed information on timeliness (November 2022)

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

Note 1: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This applies to 9 then enforcement appeals decided though inquiries.

Casework Type	Procedure Type	Median (weeks)	Mean (weeks)	Decisions
s78 planning appeals	Written Representations	31.1	35.0	859
s78 planning appeals	Hearings	39.0	45.7	55
s78 planning appeals	Inquiries	29.4	41.2	20
Householder appeals	Written Representations	18.4	23.1	304
Enforcement appeals	Written Representations	49.6	54.3	105
Enforcement appeals	Hearings	93.0	82.1	21
Enforcement appeals	Inquiries	58.6	89.2	9

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

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

Note 1: when there are fewer than 20 decisions the measures mean, median and standard deviation are less meaningful. This appies to the 18 planning appeals through inquiries.

Measure	s78 Written Representations [Note 1]	s78 Hearings	s78 Inquiries	Householder appeals
Weeks between valid date & start date
Median (average)	10.0	3.5	1.7	6.6
Mean (average)	11.0	5.9	2.1	7.4
Cases that started in November 2022	657	34	27	381
Weeks between start date & event date
Median (average)	14.9	13.9	16.4	9.1
Mean (average)	17.7	23.8	27.2	12.7
Cases where an event occurred during November 2022	937	94	20	374
Weeks between event date & decision date
Median (average)	4.1	5.7	9.4	3.3
Mean (average)	5.3	7.1	16.9	4.8
Cases that have been decided in November 2022	788	53	18	297

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

Explanation of date terminology

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 appeal process

11. 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).

The number of receipts, decisions and closed cases reported for September 2022 have all been revised upwards since the October 2022 Statistical Release. This is due to cases being updated on the casework management system after the data for the October Monthly Statistics was downloaded. For all future Official Statistics production we will extract data on or after the third working day of the month, to reduce the likelihood that revisions like this are needed.

Table	Revisions
Table 1	Events held :September 2022
Table 2	Received: September 2022
Table 2	Closed: January and August 2022
Table 2	Open: September and October 2022
Table 6	Median weeks: inquiries January 2022
Table 6	Mean weeks: hearings May 2022, inquiries January 2022
Table 6	Standard deviation: January 2022
Table 7	Median weeks: enforcement cases January and May 2022
Table 7	Mean weeks: specialist cases May 2022
Table 7	Standard deviation: specialist cases September 2022
Annex A	Decisions: enforcement WR decisions May and September 2022
Annex A	Mean: enforcement hearings May 2022
Annex A	Standard deviation: hearings May 2022
Annex A	Decisions: enforcement inquiries January 2022
Annex A	Mean: enforcement inquiries January 2022
Annex A	Standard Deviation: enforcement inquiries January 2022
Annex A	Mean: specialist WRs May 2022
Annex A	Standard deviation: September 2022
Annex A	Median: specialist casework May 2022
Annex A	Mean: specialist casework May 2022
Annex A	Standard deviation: May 2022

12. Backgroud 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. # 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.

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.