Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what restrictions apply to people who were recently employed as local planning officers working in the private sector on planning applications in the same local authority area in which they were previously employed.

The terms and conditions of employment for local authority officers are a matter for each local authority. It will be for local authorities to include in those terms and conditions such provisions about conflicts of interest as they consider appropriate. Local authority officers should also have regard to the probity guidance published by the Local Government Association and the Planning Advisory Service.

The consideration of any planning applications by a local authority should be undertaken with due process, a fair hearing and appropriate transparency. Planning applications are considered on their own merits and, by law, are determined in accordance with the development plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.