My Department does not compile, on a systematic basis, information on the numbers of vacancies in planning, or any other type of posts in the local authorities. However, the most recent survey of the larger local authority planning departments, namely, county councils and county borough corporations, carried out by my Department on 16 October 2000 found that the overall number of serving staff, both administrative and professional, had increased to 1,066, which compared to a figure of 894.5 in September 1999 and a figure of 994 recorded in July 2000. In relation to professional planners specifically, the October survey found that there was a total of 404 authorised posts for professional planners, 103 of which were vacant at that time. Details of the results of the October survey are set out in the attached table, including details of the vacancies for professional planners in each of the planning authorities. My Department does not have information on vacancies for other categories of staff in the planning authorities.
A number of measures have been taken to increase the number of professional planners in the planning system. My Department has written to planning authorities on a number of occasions asking that they consider the adequacy of their staffing to ensure that the planning system does not cause bottlenecks in meeting demand and delivers the best possible service to the customer.