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FOI request (FOI-81914995)
Planning
Requested Tue 17 July 2018
Responded Fri 31 August 2018Please can you address the following questions, if you hold information on them:
- Has the council outsourced its planning department (responsible for town and country planning)? If so, who is responsible for providing these services?
- Has the council outsourced any part of its planning services (planning policy, development management, planning enforcement)? If so, who is responsible for providing these services?
- Please provide details of any company providing statutory planning services or service support for planning to the council. If such provision exists, how long has the company provided services to the council, how long does the contract last for and what is the value of the contract?
- Are planning officers responsible for delivering the council’s town and country planning responsibilities employed directly by the council? If not, who are they employed by?
- Is routine use of private sector consultants made to process planning applications on behalf of the council? If so, which company/companies are used for this and how much was paid for such consultancy in the 2017-18 financial year?
- Is routine use of private sector consultants made to develop planning policy on behalf of the council? If so, which company/companies are used for this and how much was paid for such consultancy in the 2017-18 financial year?
- Is routine use of private sector consultants made to conduct planning enforcement work on behalf of the council? If so, which company/companies are used for this and how much was paid for such consultancy in the 2017-18 financial year?
Response
Q1 - No, there is an in-house planning service.
Q2 - No, the responsibility for these services remains with the Council.
Q3 - Statutory planning duties are carried out directly by the Council and its officers. Some expert advisory services, for example, might be externally sourced. These services are hired in on an ad hoc basis as required to provide expert advice in a particular field of expertise.
Q4 - The majority of planning officers are employed directly by the council. Two planning officers are employed by the Council on a temporary contractual basis
Q5 - No, use of consultants is under exceptional circumstances, where it has not been possible to fill existing vacancies with permanent staff
Q6 - There is no routine use of private sector consultants to develop planning policy on behalf of the council.
Q7 - No, planning enforcement officers are employed directly by the council and routinely carry out this work and no money was paid towards consultancy work in this part of the Planning Service
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