Official Statistics

Monthly Statistical Release Background Quality Report - November 2020

Published 26 November 2020

Applies to England

1. Introduction

This background quality report assesses the quality of monthly official statistics for the planning Inspectorate using the European Statistics System (ESS) Quality Assurance Framework (QAF). This is the method recommended by the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Quality Strategy. Statistics are of good quality when they are fit for their intended use.

The ESS QAF measures the quality of statistical outputs against the dimensions of

• relevance
• accuracy and reliability
• timeliness
• accessibility and clarity
• comparability and coherence

The GSS also recommends assessment against 3 other principles in the ESS QAF. These are:

• trade-offs between output quality components
• confidentiality and transparency
• balance between performance, cost and respondent burden

These dimensions and principles cross the three pillars of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics. This quality assessment covers the monthly statistical release which provides summary information on appeals, which represent the highest volume (in terms of number of cases) of the work of the Planning Inspectorate. 

These statistics are produced each month to allow anyone to see how we are performing. The focus is on timeliness as that is an area in which stakeholders have an interest. We also include some information on the decisions that we have made; and on the number of Inspectors available to make those decisions. 

##Background and Context

The Planning Inspectorate’s job is to make decisions and provide recommendations and advice on a range of land use planning-related issues across England and Wales. We do this in a fair, open and timely way.  

The Planning Inspectorate deals with planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related and specialist casework in England and Wales.    

The Planning Inspectorate is an executive agency, sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and the Welsh Government.  

2. Methodology and Production

The statistics provided in this publication has used data from:

• our casework management systems used for processing appeals casework, Horizon, Picaso and Inspector Scheduling System. This has been used to produce the statistics on our casework. Analysis is based on data extracted from these systems on:
  • number of decisions 23rd November 2020
  • mean, median, standard deviation and open cases 18th November 2020
• SAP HR – The Human Resources system database used to store all information regarding members of staff This data source has been used to provide statistics on the number of inspectors. Analysis is based on data extracted from SAP on 2nd November 2020
• spreadsheets – some of our casework data, for Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals and Hedgerow appeals, is also extracted from source MS Excel spreadsheets. This data has been used in conjunction with Horizon data to calculate performance data
• virtual events spreadsheet. This data has been used to provide statistics on the number of virtual events. Analysis is based on data extracted from this spreadsheet on 18th November 2020

Within the publication there is a focus on three different types of casework:

1. Planning covers s78 planning appeals, Householder appeals, Commercial appeals, s20 Listed Building appeals, Advertisement appeals, s106 Planning Obligation appeals and Called In Planning Applications 
2. Enforcement covers s174 Enforcement appeals, s39 Enforcement Listed Building appeals and Lawful Development Certificate appeals 
3. Specialist casework includes Common Land, Rights of Way orders, Tree Preservation Orders, High Hedges appeals and Hedgerow appeals

3. Relevance

The Planning Inspectorate has proactively decided to produce these statistics monthly to better meet user needs. As this is a new publication, we welcome feedback and will continue to develop the statistic over time to ensure we continue to meet user needs.

The release can be used to answer press queries, parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information requests. The report is also useful for internal customers to support evidence-based decisions and to support discussions with external stakeholders.

4. Accuracy and Reliability

The Planning Inspectorate use administrative data from operational delivery systems to compile these statistics, as these data come from live systems there are occasions when this data changes. Data used on the publication is based on data recorded in these systems at the time of extraction.

The possible changes that could occur in these statistics include:

• data entry error – Some data may be entered in a form that is incomplete or in a format that cannot be processed. An example of this is that there are occasionally errors in date fields; these are highlighted in internal data quality reports and the Inspectorate is working to improve the quality of data that supports this publication
• on occasions the categorisation of cases may change e.g. the procedure type can change and this will be recorded differently in the latest monthly statistic compared to previous versions
• delays in updating records on Operational systems mean that changes may apply to data older than the latest month released

The data on virtual events has been marked as provisional as we continue to quality assure this information and develop and longer-term solution to collecting these statistics.

5. Timeliness and Punctuality

Figures are published monthly within a month of the end of the reporting period. This is to allow time to produce the statistics while ensuring they are timely for users.

The release date for this publication was pre-announced on the Planning Inspectorate’s Calendar of Upcoming Releases section of GOV.UK. There is also a 12 month release calendar with a specific release date given at least four weeks in advance where practicable provided on the GOV.UK website.

6. Accessibility and Clarity

Our statistics are published on the GOV.UK website. The publication is available from 0930 hours on the day of release.

Figures from the statistic are separately available in MS Excel format for users to download. This allows for use in individual research and reports.

7. Coherence and Comparability

The publication includes trends over a 12-month period to allow comparisons over time. If significant changes are observed in the statistics these have been explained.

For most of the data in this publication there is only one source of data and therefore it is not possible to cross-reference this with another data source. The only exception is virtual events data and we are in the process of improving this data capture and ensuring coherence across the different data sources.

8. Trade-offs between Output Quality Components

Where possible we have minimised the cost to Government of producing these statistics by using data already collated for operational delivery purposes. The main source of data used for compiling these statistics is our casework management systems, HORIZON and PICASO, these systems are large administrative databases, and as such, data quality across fields is of varying quality and completeness.

We produce these statistics each month, less than a month after the period on which we are reporting. This provides limited time for checking of the quality of the data. We make this decision to allow users timely information. Quality improvement is a key focus area, which we seek to continuously improve.

9. Quality Assurance

Data feeding the publications undergoes quality checks to ensure the correct data has been extracted and the appropriate filters have been applied. Subsequently, the layout and presentation of the data in the statistical release is read by multiple members of The Data and Performance team to ensure that the data is presented appropriately to ensure the correct interpretation by the user.

10. Assessment of User Needs and Perceptions

Publication of this report has been in response to requests for information from the media and the general public about the Planning Inspectorate’s performance. This report also contributes to the Planning Inspectorate’s commitment to release information where possible.

The Planning Inspectorate invite users to provide feedback to any of their publications or reports using the contact information within the publication.

11. Performance, Cost and Respondent Burden

The production of the Monthly Official Statistic requires less than one FTE per annum.

The report uses administrative data sources already collected by the Planning Inspectorate. As such, there is no respondent burden, and the main cost is the production of the statistics including quality assurance and data interpretation.

12. Confidentiality, Transparency and Security

The Data and Performance team involved in the production of this Official Statistic have completed the Government wide Responsible for Information training and they understand their responsibilities under the Data Protection Act and the Official Statistics Code of Practice.

The Data and Performance team adhere to the principles and protocols laid out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and comply with pre-release access arrangements. The Pre-Release Access list for our publications are available on the GOV.UK website.

13. Contact Details

The Planning Inspectorate welcome feedback on our statistical products. If you have any comments or questions about this publication or about our statistics in general, you can contact us as follows:  

Media enquiries 0303 444 5004  email [email protected]  Public enquiries email [email protected] 

Please note  we are currently reviewing our statistics with a view to making them as clear and helpful as possible for users. We would be delighted if you could contact us via the address below with any views on this approach; particularly on what content would be most useful and why. 

 email  [email protected]