The UK’s planning system is not damaging the economy, according to research commissioned by the House of Common’s Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) committee.
The report, drawn up by Roger Tym & Partners, stated: “There is no evidence that planning is a significant explanatory factor for the UK’s low productivity compared to its main competitors.”
It will be used during the debate on the government’s Planning Bill on 17 December.
Andrew Bennett MP, chair of the ODPM committee, said: “We have suffered for decades under the delusion that the planning system is a major cause of low productivity in the UK, but Roger Tym & Partners was unable to find a shred of evidence to justify this view.”
Bennett added that the report was backed by evidence from the British Retail Consortium and the CBI.
But the CBI’s planning spokesman, Ian Jeffries, said: “The CBI does not endorse the conclusion of this report. Productivity is clearly affected by the inefficiency of the planning system, as we have maintained all along.”
The report dismissed claims made in the McKinsey report, which said that planning was the main factor to blame for UK economic problems.
EGi News 12/12/02
