2. local.gov.uk/pas
Planning Advisory Service (PAS)
Team of 13
Part of Local Government family
Funded by DLUHC and Defra to
support English planning authorities
“PAS exists to support local planning
authorities in providing effective and
efficient planning services and to
support the implementation of changes
in the planning system”
3. local.gov.uk/pas
LGA – what’s that then
The LGA is the national membership body for local authorities and we work on
behalf of our member councils to support, promote and improve local
government.
Membership comprises councils in England and includes district, county,
metropolitan and unitary authorities along with London boroughs and the City of
London Corporation.
LGA is politically-led, cross-party organisation (supported by officers) that works
on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice
with national government.
The LGA provides a range of practical support, on a free of charge and/or
subsidised basis.
This includes support such as leadership programmes, peer challenge, open
data and programmes tailored to specific service areas such as children's,
adults', health, care, financial, culture, tourism, sport and planning services.
4. local.gov.uk/pas
What we do
Training events and workshops
Web-based resources and guidance
Newsletter = 8000 recipients
Official officer and councillor peer network
Unofficial network of friends and advisors
Brand new experimental learning networks:
NSIP, environment, developer contributions, digital
Also work with individual councils and offer ‘peer
challenge’ reviews
Our work programme for 2022/23 includes design,
developer contributions, Local Plans, development
management designation and nutrient neutrality
6. local.gov.uk/pas
Pre-applications and PPAs project
This year we did something on Pre-apps and PPAs
- Lots of academic research
- We wanted to understand what councils charge for this and why
- What we have made
- A new webpage with guidance document
- Templates and fill-in-the-gaps forms
- Officer forum (meets every 8wks)
- So what,
- Drive consistency and improve accurate costings
- Help people new to this work
- Generated lots of data
7. local.gov.uk/pas
Planning reform
Its coming
Development Management will be taking on a more holistic approach
Changes to how to measure success
Environment and skills in understanding nature based development
Digitisation of the system is in early stages
Beauty, well designed places and design coding will become the core
role
DM will be the front line for tackling climate change
8. local.gov.uk/pas
Career advice
Public sector and working in local authorities is both hard work and
amazing. There is so much variety and interesting work you can only
do within public sector, its were planning can make such a difference
Don’t get pigeon holed too early on in your career. Mix it up.
Take any and all opportunities you can, you never know where it
might lead
Get involved in the extra curricular stuff (POS NOVUS, RTPI YP
regions, Women in Planning, BAME Planners Network, Planning Aid,
blogs/vlogs/podcasts)
Get a mentor (all the best people do)
Make a 5yr plan
9. local.gov.uk/pas
Career advice – Job hunting
Planning resource – great first port of call
Individual council or authority webpages
Don’t be scared to pick up the phone and just have a chat about who
you are (emails are less effective)
Don’t be put off by fixed term or temporary contracts
Sign-up with recruiters
Its ok to apply for non-entry level roles (internal promotion means
another recruitment drive shortly)
Apply for stuff you might not see as dream job
Get involved in the extra circular stuff – it opens doors
Don’t be disheartened – recruitment and appointment takes ages
10. local.gov.uk/pas
Career advice – starting on the job
Don’t be shocked by the transition from uni to work, Its 35/40hrs a
week. We all had to do porch extensions at the start. But do ask to
shadow all the time
Be politically savvy - Spend time to understand council politics and to
be in tune with the way politicians think.
Try not to get too hung up about not understanding everything:
a) this is why you’re working with other colleagues,
b) you’ll never know everything anyway, and
c) sometimes not knowing everything gives you an advantage.
Remember you are a breath of fresh air and a new perspective.
It may take a while to feel that you are having an impact on your
team and projects – this is normal. Some things will always click faster
than others and most people take anywhere between 3 months and 12
months to settle into a role depending on individual circumstances.
Set up the processes and schedule for success
I’m a planner – I’m a RTPI chartered Planner and worked in the industry for just under 20yrs.
Varied experience– I have worked solely in the public sector. LA positions in DM, policy and delivery. Then moved, via an initial secondment to Planning Advisory Services, short stop off at DLUHC doing HDT/delivery response to the pandemic.
Passionate about public sector- I’ve seen firsthand the unique experience that public work can provide, only LA can enable, shape developments, place make and plan make. There is something really exciting about working towards the public benefit/feels quite philanthropic. Use this to advise government and help them develop responses. NHS analogy.
Vocal advocate for the profession – so I use my more visible platform to tell everyone about how fantastic the public sector is and to more generally champion planning as a profession. Regularly interviewed in Planning press (the Planner, Planning Resource and Inside Housing) and online forums such as k-hub. PAS blog, social media posts etc..
I’m a regular contributor to 50 shades of planning podcasts
I also chair the Kent Women In Planning branch – hosting training and support events locally.
Team of 13 – Planning and Green Wing, made up of Planners, non-planners, and secondees
Part of Local Government family – actually part of something called the LGA. Umbrella organisation to support councils across all functions (child and adult social services, finances, housing registers, benefits etc) PAS is the slightly different branded Planning arm
Funded by DLUHC and Defra to support English planning authorities – We are robin hoods – take £££ from the gov and spend it on helping the public sector.
“PAS exists to support local planning authorities in providing effective and efficient planning services and to support the implementation of changes in the planning system”
Basically we try and lift everyone up to make things better for all.
We are small organisation but with a big voice – we are the thinking space that others might not have
And we do that in the following ways
Training events and workshops
Web-based resources and guidance
Newsletter = 8000 recipients
Official officer and councillor peer network
Unofficial network of friends and advisors
Brand new Basecamp experimental learning networks:
NSIP, environment, developer contributions, digital
Also work with individual councils and offer ‘peer challenge’ reviews
Our work programme for 2022/23 includes design, developer contributions, Local Plans, development management designation and nutrient neutrality
Basically
we make things
We are the MOT mechanics
We are the AA
We do loads of behind the scenes stuff to bring local and national government together.
Development management
A lot of PAS work looks at the nuts and bolts of processing of applications. Core council function, needs systems and a way of handling paperwork and decisions.
Designation programme - Currently the Gov produces league tables of councils on Speed indicator - what % of applications are determined in 8wk or 13wks for major applications or non-majors. Quality indicator – how many applications are granted by PINS. PAS work is to help councils failing these indicators and find out why they are in trouble. We also help all councils work on predicting and forecasting where they will be.
AA – when things go really wrong, such as council having complaints, in the press, bankrupt – we step in and do a roadside assistance to get the service functioning again. Don’t provide them with more people but help with making things work with the resources they have.
MOT – we go into places that invite us to do an MOT on their planning department. What's working well, how can they improve.
Teaching – delivering training sessions to new-to-the-job officers and local elected councillors on planning committee.
Checklist– Peer challenges, we get a team of experts in to interview lots of people involved in the council or who are customers and write a report on how they are performing.
Sharing – we do a lot of making resources, tools, webpages which show people who has nailed it and how they have done. Sharing best practice and guidance.
Pre-applications and Planning performance Agreements – not statutory function, it’s a nice to do not a must do. But really makes a positive difference to development quality.
Research – desktop study looking at publicly available information plus primary research - a survey, interviews
Outcomes
– everybody charges differently but universally councils don’t charge enough
Pretty much all the development industry involved said pre-app is a real benefit
Spend time to understand council politics and to be in tune with the way politicians think. It is a sure way to fast track promotion as most LPA planners are very poor at it
Spend time to understand council politics and to be in tune with the way politicians think. It is a sure way to fast track promotion as most LPA planners are very poor at it
Getting into the swing of things
Your first week will likely be a little daunting as most first weeks tend to be. There’s a lot to handle simultaneously: new job, new people, new environment. The most important thing to remember is that you have already proven yourself. It’ll be much easier to slowly settle into your new role and be yourself if you’re out of interview mode.
Your first few weeks will likely be a mixture of HR personal admin, mandatory training and IT set up as well as any other induction work the council might ask of you. But alongside this, you’ll be introduced to the real work of your placement: your line manager will usually have some ideas about what projects they would like you to be involved in. Once you have a basic overview, you’ll be able to start contributing – this might feel like being thrown in the deep end but don’t shy away! Unless your line manager has said otherwise, there’s usually some flexibility to shape your role: don’t be afraid to volunteer for tasks and add more objectives onto your work plan. You can work with your line manager on this: they will love a proactive grad!
It may take a while to feel that you are having an impact on your team and projects – this is normal. Some things will always click faster than others and most people take anywhere between 3 months and 12 months to settle into a role depending on individual circumstances. In some cases, this will mean you’re just getting to grips with your placement as you exit: that’s ok! Essentially, patience is key when you first start. But there are a few things you can do to smooth the settling-in period:
Ask lots of questions, particularly in your first few weeks when everything feels new. No one is expecting you to know everything - your colleagues are more than happy to answer anything as it shows interest!
Arrange regular 1:1 meetings with your line manager.
Arrange 1:1 meetings with each member of your team, to introduce yourself and better understand what their expertise/responsibility area is.
Familiarise yourself with issues surrounding the area using the LGA’s useful publications and any other recommended docs.
Start a glossary of acronyms you hear – you can ask your manager or other grads about these if you can’t figure them out.
Figure out your note-taking/actions system, whether you’re tracking your workload on a word document, excel, OneNote or on paper. You could consider Notion, Slack, Trello or many other options.
Arrange regular meetings with your mentor/buddy . You have the opportunity to shape these relationships so it’s important to decide early how they can be most beneficial, whether that be discussions around career development or drawing on their experience to support your current work.
Meet with fellow grads in your council (and/or previous grads if you can find their contact details).
Meet your Placement Coordinator who will be helping you settle in and track your development.
Arrange introductory meetings with people outside your team to explore opportunities across the organisation.
Most importantly, remember to cut yourself some slack - you can relax in these first few weeks. You should not be working outside of regular working hours (definitely not at the weekends). Take a full hour break for lunch and try to take 5-minute breaks throughout the day.
