A new report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has raised serious concerns about the state of planning enforcement across England. Losing control: complaints about planning enforcement highlights growing pressures on local authorities, with under-resourced teams struggling to investigate breaches and act within statutory time limits — sometimes leaving unlawful developments in place and communities without a legal remedy.
Planning enforcement complaints now account for 47% of all upheld planning and development complaints, up from 26% in 2021–22. The report points to recurring challenges including long-running cases, backlogs, poor coordination between planning and legal teams, and the risk of councils losing the power to enforce conditions.
This webinar will explore the report’s findings and what they mean for local authorities. Drawing on the Ombudsman’s learning points and examples of effective practice, the session will outline practical steps councils can take to strengthen enforcement services, improve oversight, and manage risk — including the scrutiny questions provided for councillors and senior officers.
The webinar is free to attend for LLG Members & will be held on Zoom.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Head of Policy & Communications
Cameron Black joined the Local Government Social Care Ombudsman in 2010 and served as an Investigator before becoming External Training & Relationship Lead in August 2022.
Cameron was responsible for the development of the Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and led 20 pilots of the Code across England.
He previously worked in leadership roles in local authority homeless services in the North of England. He has also worked as a Senior Housing Advisor for Shelter, during which he led on developing closer relationships between local authority homelessness services and Citizens Advice Bureaus.
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