A shortage of planning officers at England’s councils could derail efforts to tackle the housing crisis and hamper growth, says UNISON today (Monday).
Last week, the chancellor’s spending review outlined the government’s ambition to kickstart economic growth by investing £39bn in social and affordable housing, as part of its plans to build 1.3m homes.
But new research conducted by UNISON, has found councils are way short of the staffing levels needed if they’re to process enough planning applications.
Without sufficient planning officers, many families, first-time buyers and low-paid public sector workers will struggle to get much-needed homes because of planning approval delays, the union says.
Although Rachel Reeves has pledged to recruit 300 extra planning staff across English councils, and to use artificial intelligence to cut planning red tape, UNISON says local authorities will need almost three times as many extra workers.
UNISON’s research, which will be among the issues discussed at the union’s annual local government conference* in Liverpool today, suggests local authorities will still need around another 600 more planning experts on top of the Treasury’s 300.
Freedom of Information (FoI) data collected by the union shows just one in five (21%) planning departments in England are currently fully staffed.
New figures compiled by the union over the past few months show there were 884 vacancies nationally and one in nine (11%) planning posts were unfilled. Many councils are forced to rely on temporary or agency workers to fill critical roles where they can.
In the autumn statement, Rachel Reeves earmarked £46m to train and recruit additional planning officers to accelerate housing applications and revive stalled developments. But that won’t even provide one new member of staff per council, and planners themselves say it’s nowhere near enough, according to UNISON’s research.
In a separate survey of planning officers, three quarters (76%) said the Treasury’s hiring plan won’t “get Britain building again”. Just 3% believe the investment will meet the government’s housebuilding goals.
More than two thirds (70%) of planning officers say understaffing is one of the main barriers to local development. And four in five (81%) say low staffing means delays to new homes, shops, schools, roads and other projects.
The research also highlights mounting pressure on planning officers, with some reporting they feel overwhelmed by soaring workloads and stress because there are so few of them.
Three quarters (76%) say their council has reduced the number of officers over the past five years. That includes some experienced officers leaving for better-paid roles in the private sector, sometimes to work for developers.
Others report growing pressure from developers, who submit poor-quality applications on the assumption that they’ll be given approval because of the pressure to hit government targets.
Some workload issues, such as the volume of council paperwork, could be eased through the rollout of AI-based software announced by the prime minister ahead of last week’s spending review. But while this may speed up initial paperwork, experienced staff will still be needed to assess and respond to planning requests, warns UNISON.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “Councils must be able to recruit more planning staff if communities are to get the homes, schools and services they need.
“Local planning teams have been hollowed out by a decade and a half of cuts by successive Conservative governments, yet staff still handle around 350,000 planning applications each year.
“The Treasury’s pledge to recruit more planning workers is a boost, but won’t be enough to ease the pressure, clear backlogs or support the country’s future growth.
“If there’s any hope of hitting the 1.3m housebuilding target, central government must provide the extra resources to recruit and retain staff.
“Authorities need long-term, sustainable funding if communities are to get the homes they need and the economy is to thrive.”
Case studies:
Mark Daly, a planning officer at Horsham District Council in West Sussex who has worked in the sector for ten years, said: “Planning staff are professional and motivated. They want to hit the housing target and help people into quality homes. But the main hurdle is resources.
“I joined during the previous government’s austerity drive. Deep cuts stripped jobs and experience from teams, while workloads soared.
“Labour’s promise to recruit 300 more planners will help, but it won’t be enough. Horsham has a target of over 1,300 homes a year, which is a 46% increase on current levels.
“More must be done to make planning an attractive career and stop overworked staff leaving for better-paid jobs.”
Emma (not her real name), a planning officer at a city council in northern England who’s worked in the public sector for 25 years, said: “I used to enjoy my work, especially the interaction with developers – there was mutual respect. But in the past six years it’s become exhausting and stressful.
“Workloads are through the roof, staff feel burnt out and experienced colleagues have left. It follows years of cuts. My team had seven officers and now there are just four.
“Developers are more aggressive. They cite housing targets to push through residential schemes for approval, however poor or unsuitable they might be.
“We’re expecting that an increase in appeals against refusals will also add to workloads. There’s a constant flow of complex applications, and delays while officers await advice from other short-staffed council departments or external experts.
“The Treasury’s recruitment pledge was much needed. But it barely scratches the surface. It targets graduates, but more is needed to attract and retain experienced staff.”
Notes to editors:
– *UNISON’s annual two-day local government conference began yesterday at ACC Liverpool, Kings Dock Street, Liverpool L3 4FP and continues today. This will be followed by the union’s national conference, which takes place from tomorrow to Friday (17 to 20 June). Issues to be discussed include the future of the NHS, the employment rights bill, migrant workers, apprenticeships and local government reorganisation. Further details can be found here.
– UNISON’s research into council planning departments is available here. It’s based on a survey of 340 planning officers during February and March 2025, and responses to FoI requests from 309 authorities in England between January and June 2025.
– In the autumn budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged £46m to recruit 300 extra planning officers across England. Last week, Keir Starmer announced that AI-based planning software, called Extract, is to become available to all councils by March 2026.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
The article Housing and growth threatened by council staff shortages first appeared on the UNISON National site.
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