DIGITAL PLANNING PROGRAMME

Government Transformation and Service Delivery

Record date: 31 March 2026

Whole-life cost: £218.5m
Published schedule: 01/09/2020 – Mid: 29/03/2030, High: 31/03/2030
NISTA delivery confidence: AMBER
Senior responsible owner: Charlotte Spencer Caroline Crowther

What the project is for

The planning system should deliver the development that communities need and ensure that places are liveable and sustainable. Communities should trust the planning system and be sure they have the ability to engage with what gets built where. The system needs to be faster, more efficient and more certain, making local and national planning policies clearer to citizens, communities, and developers, and enabling effective consultation with affected communities. The MHCLG Digital Planning Programme will enable a modern and efficient 21st century planning system. The programme’s four key interventions (focused on better access to planning data, faster and more efficient planning decisions, improved local community engagement and, simpler, faster, more accessible plan making) will shift a semi analogue system based on documents to one that is data-driven, standards based and powered by modern user centred products and services. The programme is progressing the development and rollout of AI-enabled planning tools to support the shift from document-based processes to a digital, interoperable planning system. This includes Extract, which converts historic planning documents and maps into standardised, usable data, and Augmented Planning Decisions, which uses this data to enable faster, more consistent decision-making—initially targeting a significant reduction in processing times for householder applications.

Departmental delivery commentary

The SRO Delivery Confidence Assessment (DCA) rating at 25/26 Q4 remained at Amber. The NISTA Gateway Review took place in February 2026, assessing the programme’s readiness for the next phase of delivery. The review team were complimentary of the programme recognising improved delivery maturity within a complex and evolving environment. This resulted in an Amber delivery confidence rating, reflecting progress alongside the inherent challenges of scaling delivery nationally. The programme has prioritised activity to address the 12 Gateway recommendations which were focused around integrated planning, adoption, governance. A central priority is developing an integrated, outcome-focused plan that aligns dependencies, milestones and benefits across policy and delivery; this underpins several other recommendations. Key delivery risks are being managed through closer collaboration with partners and more targeted engagement with local authorities to support adoption. Governance is evolving to place emphasis on business change and operational delivery, with broader stakeholder involvement to strengthen ownership, accountability and benefits realisation.

Schedule

Compared to financial year 24/25-Q4, the project's end-date at 25/26-Q4 increased from 30/03/2027 to 29/03/2030. This reflects an updated business case agreed at the recent spending review which sets out plans to scale digital transformation of the planning system, moving from pilots to widespread adoption. Key plans include scaling the Planning Data Platform, mandating data standards, enabling national data sharing and AI use, and shifting towards market intervention so suppliers meet a modern software definition. By 2030, the aim is a faster, data-driven system delivering productivity gains, better decisions, which will enable the delivery of 1.5 million homes.

Cost

The WLC has increased by £71m, reflecting increases from Spending Review Phase 2 and adjustments for inflation in real terms.

Benefits

The programme’s benefits combine cash and non-cash impacts from improved access to planning data and modern software, enabling faster decisions, more efficient processes, and better digital engagement. These align to Financial Year 25/26 outcomes, including quicker planning decisions, more transparent plan-making, and improved infrastructure delivery. The main cashable benefits include savings from digital citizen engagement tools; licence fee savings through adoption of the programme’s development management software; and reduced costs to local planning authorities in preparing local plans using digital plan making tools. In addition, the programme delivers non-cash benefits including reduced administrative burden for local authorities, improved accessibility of planning information, and greater consistency in decision-making, contributing to a more predictable and responsive planning system.