Mr. John Spain:

I fully agree that there is a significant issue with local authority resourcing and staffing. As we understand it, the problem is not simply a matter of creating the places. There is a fundamental skills shortage in the profession and right across the board, as with other professions. That needs to be tackled jointly by the institutes, the education sector and the Government.

Local authorities have an important role to play and a significant contribution to make in the context of the strategic housing process. In fact, they may have more direct input to the decision-making process for strategic housing applications than for a standard appeal. In fact, a third party puts in the appeal and the applicant responds. There might be minimal input from the planning authority. There is experience of relying on a previous assessment of an application. In contrast, under the SHD process, the local authorities meet the board at the tri-party meeting at the pre-application stage. They put in far more detailed reports at pre-application stage than they would normally provide to the board at the application stage compared to what they would normally submit at appeals stage. The evidence is that their views are taken seriously by the board.