The role of APOS is to advise the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the Minister for the National Assembly for Wales on the maintenance and enhancement of professional standards in the Planning Inspectorate.
APOS is comprised of eight individuals; a mix of specialists in the planning field and lay members.
APOS prepare an annual report which provides their view of whether the Inspectorate’s quality assurance, quality control and training systems are in place and functioning properly.
Highlights
APOS’ 15th Report on the performance of the Planning Inspectorate made several conclusions. Overall, it considered that inspectors’ casework is generally of good quality, but noted that we had missed the target of 99% free from justified complaint, albeit by a narrow margin (the Inspectorate achieved 98.9%). In addition, APOS are encouraged by our continuing work to maintain and improve quality in Development Plan work, and are particularly pleased at the success of the Early Engagement Project.
Recommendations made by APOS include:
- Steps are taken to increase the number of Customer Satisfaction Survey responses in Wales and to report on qualitative research findings separately;
- Customer satisfaction with the written representations process should be kept under close review.
The coming year
In the forthcoming period, APOS will take an interest in decisions on mode of determination for appeals, examine the Householder Appeal Service and take a quality view of the ability to communicate electronically with the Inspectorate.
For information on the work of APOS and a copy of the latest report please visit http://www.communities.gov.uk/apos/.
