New draft guidance published to support faster and clearer local plan-making 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Digital Planning, PropTech
Aerial view of green space with businesses and housing

Read about the details of a new plan-making system for England. It will ensure local plans, which are created by councils to shape development in their area, are simpler, faster to prepare, and more accessible for everyone. Learn about new user-tested digital guidance and tools published in draft to help plan-makers deliver local plans faster.

International Volunteer Day: making a difference in our communities

Posted by: , and , Posted on: - Categories: Careers
A title card with the words 'International Volunteer Day' on it, and a photo showing the three contributors

In this post, to mark International Volunteer Day, 3 of our colleagues reflect on their volunteering experience: what motivates them, how their contributions support the people and places around them, and how it connects to their professional values.

Mapping the housing safety and quality system

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Design, System Design
Someone pointing at some of the data on a system design map

Where we live has a huge impact on our lives. The safety, quality and sustainability of our living environment is part of a vast and complex system. Learn how MHCLG's System Design team visualised this complex system, bringing real people’s experiences to life within it as part of their work to support user-centred policy design.

Testing new planning data specifications with industry: 5 pilot partnerships paving the way 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Data, Digital Planning
Drawing of a laptop showing various graphics and anonymous data on screen

Modernising planning relies on standardised data that enables digital systems to communicate effectively. The Digital Planning programme is funding 5 pilot projects with local authorities and software suppliers to test emerging data standards for planning applications. Read about how these partnerships will help create more transparent and efficient planning services across England.

The Local Deprivation Explorer: Making deprivation data easier to find, understand and use 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Data, Innovation
a laptop screen showing one of the maps in the tool

The Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) rank more than 33,000 neighbourhoods across England by levels of deprivation. Read about the new site that we’ve built that makes this vital data easier to explore, understand and use – through postcode-based area summaries and interactive maps.

Introducing the Mayoral Data Council: making data work for devolution 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Data, Mayoral Data Council
A title card showing the map of England and the words 'Mayoral Data Council'

The new Mayoral Data Council (MDC) brings together senior data leaders from England’s Mayoral Strategic Authorities. As powers shift from Whitehall to local communities, the MDC ensures local government has a strong voice in national data initiatives, turning insight into impact for communities across England.

Diving into planning decisions: What we learned from our latest user research 

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Graphic to illustrate planning data

User research is underway on standardising planning decision notices. Local authorities currently use different formats to record planning application outcomes, but standardisation would make crucial data instantly available for effective planning, analysis and forecasting. The data standards community has been providing invaluable feedback on where standardisation can deliver the biggest positive impact for the sector.

PropTech innovation takes on housing delivery challenges  

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A group of people including Chief Planner Joanna Averley and representatives from the 12 selected pilots

Following rigorous judging, 12 project teams have been selected from 84 applications to tackle three fundamental problems holding back housing delivery in England. Working alongside local authority and developer partners, each innovator will work until March 2026 testing their solutions in the real world.

Designing a user-centred intranet to help our staff work more effectively 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Design, Ways of working
a laptop screen showing the new intranet homepage

An intranet is an essential digital platform that connects employees within an organisation, giving them easy access to internal news and resources. Sian, content designer, shares how user-centred design transformed our department's intranet, streamlining communication, knowledge sharing and accessibility to help our UK-wide staff work more productively and efficiently.