Title

BUDGET 2025

Budget: More funding to recruit planners

Funding to recruit officers has been announced in a bid to boost capacity in the planning system as part of today’s Budget.

 (c) Clare Louise Jackson

(c) Clare Louise Jackson

Funding to recruit officers has been announced in a bid to boost capacity in the planning system as part of today's Budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said £48m of additional funding would be provided to recruit an extra 350 planners in England.

The funds will also be used to expanding the ‘Pathways to Planning' graduate scheme and creating a Planning Careers Hub to retain and retrain existing staff.

The chancellor also announced that £1.3bn of the National Housing Delivery Fund will be devolved to mayors.

BUDGET 2025

Spring Statement: OBR paints gloomy picture of council finances

By Martin Ford | 03 March 2026

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has painted a gloomy picture for the future of local government finances.

BUDGET 2025

LGR: putting planning back into the spotlight

By Catriona Riddell | 19 February 2026

We now have a government that puts planning at the heart of economic growth, but does reorganisation provide a golden opportunity for reform, or the perfect ...

BUDGET 2025

A close look at Far East governance

By Dan Peters | 19 February 2026

Japan’s city mayors are pushing to become independent of the main regional level of government, while financial decentralisation is being boosted through tou...

BUDGET 2025

Lessons in tourism levies

By Martin Ford | 05 February 2026

Powers to implement visitor levies will soon be available in all corners of the country. Martin Ford looks at the story so far and what England can learn fro...

Martin Ford

Popular articles by Martin Ford