FI14790

Request

This request relates to the following financial years: 

2020/2021

2021/2022

2022/2023

2023/2024 

For each question below please provide the information separately for each financial period specified above. 

  1. How many planning enforcement complaints have you received?
  2. How many planning enforcement complaints have you closed?
  3. How many planning enforcement complaints remained open/active/unresolved (or similar) on the first day of the period; with that being 1st April?   
  4. What was the average (median) caseload for each investigating officer? 
  5. How many planning enforcement staff did you have on the team structure on the first day of the period; with that being 1st April? 
  6. Please split the information for question 5 into both professional and supporting/administrative roles as applicable.
  7. Please indicate whether any of the roles identified for question 5 have been occupied by temporary staff/contractors and alike; providing the detail (number and role) of these as applicable. 
  8. Using the data provided within question 5 please indicate how many vacancies there were in each role and where these vacancies were for more than 3 months.   

Response

  1. 2020/2021 – 465, 2021/2022 – 465, 2022/2023 – 458, 2023/2024 – 402
  2. 2020/2021 – 384, 2021/2022 – 494, 2022/2023 – 440, 2023/2023 – 446
  3. We are unable to report or extract data on this request without a search of each individual case file to ascertain whether the case remained open.  As the information is not readily available and from our preliminary assessment, we have estimated that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’.   The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for Local Government it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2½ working days in determining whether the information is held, locating, retrieving and extracting the data. I regret therefore, that on this occasion I must refuse this part your request in accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
  4. 2020/2021 – 120, 2021/2022 – 100, 2022/2023 – 80, 2023/2024 – 85
  5. 2020/2021 – 6, 2021/2022 – 6, 2022/2023 – 7, 2023/2024 – 6
  6. 2020/2021 – 1 Principal Planning Enforcement Officer, 3 Senior Investigation Officers, 1 Administrative Support Officer, 1 Planning Enforcement Manager. 2021/2022 – 1 Principal Planning Enforcement Officer,  3 Senior Investigation Officers, 1 Administrative Support Officer, 1 Planning Enforcement Manager. 2022/2023 – 1 Principal Planning Enforcement Officer, 3 Senior Investigation Officers, 1 Investigation Officer, 1 Administrative Support Officer, 1 Planning Enforcement Officer. 2023/2024 - 3 Senior Investigating Officers, 1 Investigating Officer, 1 Administrative Support Officer, 1 Planning Enforcement Manager.
  7. No roles were temporary or occupied by contractors.
  8. Two vacancies in the administrative role between 2020 and 2024.