The IHBC has welcomed the Autumn Budget commitments of significant funding for planning, including investment to recruit an extra 350 planners, and supports the RTPI’s call for long-term investment as ‘the key to building capacity and supporting the government’s growth agenda.’
RTPI writes:
The chancellor has pledged £48 million additional funding to boost capacity in the planning system. This includes additional investment to recruit an extra 350 planners in England by expanding the Pathways to Planning graduate scheme and creating a new Planning Careers Hub to retain and retrain mid-career professionals.
The funding will take the total number of recruitments across the planning system to 1,400 by the end of this Parliament. The investment comes at a critical time for the planning system, as findings from the RTPI’s State of the Profession 2025 report show that one in five of planners across the UK expect to leave the profession within the next three years.
Dr Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the RTPI, said: ‘Today’s Autumn Budget marks a watershed moment for the English planning system. This commitment has the potential to turn the tide on years of severe disinvestment, helping to keep experienced planners in the system and bring through the next generation. It’s a clear signal that planning is being treated as the critical public service it is.
‘The new funding is not just a boost for local authorities, it is an acknowledgement that planners are vital to driving the government’s growth agenda and economic productivity.’
Robbie Calvert, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the RTPI, said: ‘We wholly welcome the government’s investment despite the difficult fiscal environment. We now look forward to working with government and Higher Education Institutions to ensure this investment is sustained and directed where it’s needed most – the workforce of the future – and equip them with the skills, digital tools, well-being support and, most importantly a clear and strong sense of purpose.’
See the RTPI’s State of the Profession 2025 report
See the RTPI’s Autumn Budget submission: Read the submission
See more background at
