To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for her assessment of the changes needed in the planning system and its rules to (i) better stimulate the economy; (ii) enhance communities; and (iii) protect the environment.

I fully recognise how important planning is in protecting our environment, in shaping local communities and in supporting and developing our economy, now more than ever as we move into recovery from the pandemic. I am also very aware of the need to significantly improve the performance of our two-tier planning system.

My Department has been working on a number of fronts to improve the system, including the establishment of a cross-departmental Planning Forum to take forward recommendations from a report into the role of statutory consultees in the planning process. A key focus of the work of the Planning Forum is to improve the response times to meet the 21 day statutory consultation target, particularly in relation to major planning applications.

I recognise that the level of statutory consultee resources that are needed to respond to consultations on a timely basis is a critical issue and particularly relevant given the increasing number and complexity of planning application consultations. I recently raised the resourcing issue around planning consultations with the Finance Minister and my Permanent Secretary has written to other relevant Permanent Secretaries seeking their assistance to ensure adequate funding is available for their consultation response teams.

I have also specifically asked to be briefed on a monthly basis by those planning statutory consultees within my own department (DfI Roads and Rivers) so that issues impacting on their performance can be addressed appropriately and in a timely manner. A number of measures have been taken to ensure that this important work is placed on a sustainable and improved footing, including an inescapable resource bid in the 2022/25 budget exercise to meet the funding requirement for the additional staff needed within the Department.

My Department has also undertaken a review of the implementation of the Planning Act (NI) 2011, which has identified areas where we could further improve performance of the system for all stakeholders – including within the Department, councils, developers, and the wider public, and work on this will be progressing in the coming months.

My Department and local government have been working together to deliver a new regional planning IT system, and when it goes live later this year it will also allow for the more efficient processing of applications and bring a range of benefits to the wider planning system.

The Planning Engagement Partnership, which was convened as part of the Department's ongoing work to improve the planning system and people’s experience of the planning system, will bring forward recommendations on how to enhance the quality and depth of community engagement in the planning process at both the regional and local planning levels.

These initiatives provide the foundations to take forward real improvements and to address the concerns and challenges in terms of delivering speedy decisions to support economic growth and investment, while at the same time ensuring inclusivity and transparency for local communities and other stakeholders, and producing quality outcomes which protect and enhance our built and natural environment.