Head of planning body hits back at audit report

The head of the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) has hit back at a damning report from a public spending watchdog.

The PAC is an independent tribunal responsible for deciding planning appeals and holding public inquiries into regionally significant projects.

The NI Audit Office (NIAO) found that the PAC has not been delivering value for money and prolonged delays in its work risk undermining economic growth.

In response the PAC said the Audit Office's conclusion that it has not been delivering value for money is "difficult to justify in light of the evidence provided to them".

In a statement it added: "The Commission cannot give its seal of approval to the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report due to concerns regarding the narrative, conclusions drawn, and recommendations.

"The reporting period assessed by the NIAO was at a point in time in our past and we have moved on since.

"The 'backlogs and long delays' referred to in the report no longer exist."

The report revealed a system with long delays, an "unacceptable" lack of accountability, and poor relationships between public bodies.

The Auditor General Dorinnia Carville said: "The PAC has not been delivering value for money, and prolonged delays and backlogs risk making Northern Ireland a less attractive place for investment."

The Audit Office found that by August 2025, there were 20 major cases stuck with the PAC including so-called "Hear and Report" cases.

There are cases where the PAC hears evidence on a major scheme and then reports back to the infrastructure minister who ultimately makes a decision.

On average, these cases had been sitting with the commission for over two years, with nearly half stalled for more than three years.

At the time the Audit Office concluded its review, none of the major applications referred to the commission by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) since 2021 had been completed - though one has since been delivered.

The report warns these delays are having "major economic and environmental impacts," making Northern Ireland a significantly less attractive place for international investment.

The PAC's role as an independent examiner of local councils' development plans is also moving slowly.

The Audit Office estimates the full process of assessing these plans will not conclude until the mid-2030s - nearly two decades after it originally began.

The watchdog suggests a factor behind the stagnation is the PAC's unique legal structure.

Unlike similar planning bodies in England and the Republic of Ireland, which operate as executive agencies accountable to government ministers, the PAC is a Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Body.

This grants the PAC operational autonomy, leaving it as the only part of the local planning system with no statutory or formal targets for processing times.

Instead, the commission sets its own priorities. The Audit Office noted that none of the PAC's current corporate objectives are measurable, making a robust assessment of its performance nearly impossible.

The spending watchdog also highlighted a "fractured" and "strained" relationship between the PAC and the DfI.

Regular quarterly meetings between the chief planner and the chief commissioner have stopped, with communication reduced almost entirely to formal letter writing.

Lack of resources are also identified as part of the problem.

The PAC lost 11 experienced commissioners to retirement since 2017. While 17 new staff have been appointed, a lack of experience in handling complex, quasi-judicial cases has slowed the system.

The PAC only recovers 3% of its £2.7m running costs through outdated £150 appeal fees, while receiving no funding at all for processing major regional inquiries.

Last year the infrastructure minister announced £3m in emergency funding in an attempt to bypass the logjam, allowing the department to appoint its own independent inspectors to take over major cases from the commission.

The process of appointing those inspectors began earlier this month.

In an unusual move, the chief commissioner of the PAC has challenged the report's conclusions, contesting the Audit Office's legal remit to investigate its efficiency.

The PAC's Chief Commissioner, Andrea Kells, said she had not questioned the Audit Office's remit in terms of investigating the efficiency of the commission.

Instead she said: "The concerns raised were in respect of a different matter entirely covering the scope of the audit office's legal powers in carrying out investigations of this nature."

However, the auditor general maintains she is fully satisfied that the findings are within her legal mandate.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DoJ) has welcomed the audit office report and its recommendations.

Although the PAC is independent it gets its funding from the department.

A spokesperson said: "Delivery of some recommendations will require collaboration across government. In particular, some changes will require legislative consideration.

"Any actions arising from the report will also be taken forward with due regard to the operational independence of the Planning Appeals Commission."