7. Will the First Minister make a statement on the future of the planning system in Wales? OAQ54076

Thank you, Llyr Gruffydd, for the question. The future of the planning system in Wales will be based on the extensively revised 'Planning Policy Wales' document, published last December. It aligns the planning system directly and systematically with the requirements of the well-being of future generations Act.

I'm sure that you will share my concern, having read the report by the auditor general published recently on planning authorities in Wales, where it highlighted that planning services were given too few resources and were underperforming. It stated in the report that all of the planning services in Wales had seen their budgets halved over the past 10 years, taking into account inflation. Now, there are additional duties on these planning authorities too, as a result of the planning Act. The national development framework will be subject to consultation over the summer and that will lead to strategic development plans, which will then feed into the LDPs at that local level. So, can you tell us whether you share the concerns of the auditor general? If so, what are you doing to ensure that planning authorities have sufficient resources in order to deliver their services effectively?

I have a copy of the report with me in the Chamber this afternoon. I’ve had the opportunity to read the report in detail over the weekend. A number of recommendations are contained in the report, and as Government we have time, now, to consider the recommendations and respond to them. The majority of the recommendations aren’t directed towards Welsh Government; they’re recommendations to the local authorities themselves to consider. There are a number of points in the report that demonstrate where local authorities can do things to deal with the financial problems that they face: to actually claw back more of the costs when they do work on behalf of third parties and also—this is vitally important, I think—to work together on a regional basis in the future to create a new service in this field. That is part of the work that Julie James has done, and she will be making a statement to the Assembly on that work during the afternoon. So, there are many lessons in the report, some for us as a Government, and we will consider what we can do with those, but the majority are for the local authorities themselves—things for them to do.