Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time planning officers they estimate will be required to deliver their target of building an average 300,000 new homes in England per year; and how many are actually employed at present.

The department does not hold data on the number of planning officers who are currently employed, on either full-time or part-time bases. It therefore has no reliable evidence base from which to estimate the extra number needed for building an average of 300,000 homes in England per year.

The department has supported local planning authorities by introducing a 20 per cent increase in planning application fees and providing £ 15.8 million through the Planning Delivery Fund in order to ensure that local planning authorities have the resources and capacity they need.

It also provides support for the Royal Town Planning Institute Future Planners bursary scheme, which has run since 2015/16 and supports students on accredited postgraduate conversion degrees to pursue a career in planning. The department recently announced its continuing financial support for the scheme over the next three financial years, 2017/18 to 2019/20.