The National Planning Improvement Team, working with planning authorities, has successfully completed the first cohort of the new National Planning Improvement Framework (NPIF). The NPIF is designed to help planning authorities assess their performance, identify areas for improvement, and take action to enhance both their efficiency and effectiveness.
The completion of the pilot’s first cohort, which involved 10 planning authorities, marks a significant milestone. The National Planning Improvement Champion has now endorsed each authority’s Improvement Action Plan and Performance Assessment Report. These reports have been sent to the authority's Chief Executive and to Ivan McKee MSP, the Scottish Government Minister responsible for planning, as required by the planning acts. The reports are also available to read and download on the Improvement Service website.
Key findings from the first cohort of the NPIF include:
- 163 improvement actions identified across the 10 participating authorities.
- Of the 12 attributes contained in the NPIF, the top three identified improvement actions are making best use of data and digital technology, having good customer care, and effective and efficient decision-making processes
- Initial feedback from planning authorities on the NPIF process is positive, with many highlighting its role in providing a focus for discussions on improvements and in engaging stakeholders and ‘customers’
- Several authorities have already taken their improvement action plans to council scrutiny committees and/or used them to inform discussions on continuous corporate improvement.
- Over 50 good practice case studies were generated throughout the process, covering all 12 NPIF attributes. These will be published in phases over the coming weeks.
The National Planning Improvement Team is continuing its analysis of the results and will share this in the coming weeks.