Last edited 28 Apr 2016

Planning Advisory Service

The Planning Advisory Service (PAS) was established in 2004 to provide planning help, advice and training to councils in England. It is part of the Local Government Association and provides training, guidance and forums for planning advise.

Some of these services are free, however, some are now paid for, although they are still provided at cost and in a way that supports the goals and ethos of local government.

Councils can join us as subscribers and will then gain access to events and briefings to keep them up-to-date, a quarterly ‘best practice' update and annual training session for councillors or planning committees.

In April 2016, The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) announced that it had has halved its grant to the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) for the financial year, 2016/17.

A DCLG spokesman said: “The Planning Advisory Service will continue to play a valuable role in helping councils deliver effective planning.

“We are still supporting the Service with a £1m grant. However, all parts of the public sector need to play their part in tackling the deficit and delivering greater value for money for the taxpayer.

“PAS will become more focused and targeted on working with councils whose performance needs to improve, while improving value for money.”