Reforms to the statutory consultee system
Applies to England
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
The government response provides a summary of the responses received to the consultation on reforms to the statutory consultee system, which closed on 13 January 2026. It also sets out the government’s response on each of the consultation questions and proposals.
To support implementation of this policy, we will lay draft regulations for Parliamentary scrutiny in due course.
Original consultation
Consultation description
Statutory consultees play an important role in the planning application process by providing expert advice on significant environmental, transport, safety, and heritage issues.Â
However, local planning authorities and developers report that the statutory consultee system is not working effectively.Â
This consultation seeks views on reforming the role of statutory consultees in the planning system and covers the following proposals:
- removing statutory consultee status from certain bodies
- reviewing the scope of what statutory consultees advise on
- improving performance management across existing statutory consultee bodies in the planning system
Documents
Updates to this page
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Government response to the consultation added.
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First published.