The Planning Inspectorate has been an Executive Agency since 1992. It serves the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) and the National Assembly for Wales, by dealing with appeals and other casework under planning, housing, environment, highways and allied legislation. This includes providing information and guidance to appellants and other interested parties about the appeal process and their roles in it.

We are funded by DETR, and by the National Assembly for Wales. We recover the costs of work carried out for other bodies (for example the cost of providing an Inspector for development plan inquiries for local authorities). The formal arrangements are stated in our Framework Document at Annex A.

This document sets out our:

business plan and priorities for 2000-2001;

performance, quality and financial targets for 2000-2001; and,

corporate plan for 2001-2002 to 2003-2004.

The Inspectorate's vision is:

To be the prime source of impartial expertise for resolving disputes about the use of land, natural resources and the environment.

The objectives are:

To be recognised as applying policy consistently and authoritatively; and to ensure that the Inspectorate's collective expertise benefits the policy making process.

To develop and maintain a highly-motivated, well-trained, united and diverse workforce.

To meet the targets set by Ministers.

To obtain and use resources economically, efficiently, effectively and in an environmentally friendly way.

To maintain, and wherever possible improve, the quality of our work and to operate in a user-friendly way.

To promote awareness of the Planning Inspectorate's activities and to increase respect for its services.