Northern Ireland Planning Statistics – Quality Assurance of Administrative Data (QAAD) Report

The Northern Ireland (NI) and Mid Ulster Planning Portals are the administrative data sources which are used to produce the NI Planning Statistics.

The assessment found that the level of risk of quality concerns in these sources is low and that the public interest is low which suggests that the appropriate level of assurance required for these statistics is A1 - Basic Assurance.  Full details are reported below.

Introduction

ASRB is responsible for the compilation and publication of the NI Planning Statistics report.

The first annual NI Planning Statistics publication was produced in 2003.  The publication has altered overtime to reflect changes that followed the Review of Public Administration and the reduction of local councils from 26 to 11. It presents, in one publication the statutorily required performance measures for each council, as laid out in the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards) Order (NI) 2015 – Schedules 3 & 4. It also presents further information on planning activity at regional and sub-regional levels. The publication includes information on performance in relation to major and local applications, development type, renewable energy, and compliance and enforcement.

The publication is produced four times each year – three provisional quarterly publications (in September, December and March) and a final annual publication each July. The annual publication presents finalised data for the financial year just completed. To inform these publications, ASRB obtain data extracts from the NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals.

QAAD assessment of Northern Ireland Planning Portal and Mid Ulster Planning Portal

In 2015 the UK Statistics Authority published a regulatory standard for the quality assurance of administrative data. The standard was developed in response to concerns about the quality of administrative data and in recognition of the increasing role that such data is playing in the production of official statistics. The standard encourages risk-based judgements and supports a proportionate approach.

The standard is supported with an Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit which provides useful guidance to statistical producers about the practices they can adopt to assure the quality of the data they utilise.

In accordance with this toolkit, ASRB have carried out a quality assurance of administrative data (QAAD) assessment on the Application and Enforcement data extracted from the NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals; the administrative data sources used to produce the NI Planning Statistics.

The QAAD will focus on the following:

• Planning Applications - details on application type and description, and dates related to receipt and the decision-making process.
• Planning Enforcements - details on enforcement reason, closure description, and dates related to enforcement opening, earliest conclusion and closure.

Further information on the quality of the data sources used to produce NI Planning Statistics is available from the Background Quality Report.

The Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit provides helpful guidance to statistical producers about the practices they can adopt to assure the quality of the data they utilise. The purpose of this paper is to document the administrative data sources that are utilised in the production of the NI Planning Statistics report and to outline the results of the quality management actions that have been undertaken for assuring the suitability of the data sources for this purpose.

Use of data

ASRB use the data extracted from the NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals to produce regional and sub-regional planning statistics for NI.  A publication is then published which reports on a suite of planning activity.  Since the 1 April 2015 (following the transfer of planning powers out to councils) this report also provides summary statistical information on council progress across the three statutory targets for major development applications, local development applications and enforcement cases. The publication also reports on Departmental performance in processing regionally significant applications.

Information is published quarterly, primarily at NI level, with further breakdowns at council, parliamentary constituency and urban/rural levels.

Information relating to the number of planning applications received, decisions issued, withdrawals, processing times, live counts, enforcements opened, concluded and closed, is contained within published data.

The publication is highly relevant to internal policy customers and councils. Standards set out in schedule 4 of the Local Government (Performance Indicators and Standards)' Order (NI) 2015 are monitored through this publication.

In terms of external users, the information published is regularly referred to in local newspapers (generally immediately after new information is released).   At an overall level there is limited media interest, interest is mainly at a localised level and is generally limited to a niche user base.  For example, the information is used by planning staff when reporting to their respective council committees. The statistics produced are not considered to be economically sensitive.                                                                                

As the producers of the statistics, ASRB keep in regular contact with key users of the statistics and occasionally meet with Heads of Planning and other users to get feedback on the information provided within the report. ASRB are frequently in contact with colleagues in DfI Strategic Planning Division and attend Strategic Planning Group occasionally.

ASRB carried out a user survey during July and August 2025 to seek the feedback from both internal and external users and to explore their needs from planning statistics.  For general and ad hoc/bespoke customers, ASRB engage when providing a query response by including a link to a short survey welcoming feedback on the service provided. Results to this survey are collated, analysed and discussed at team meetings on a quarterly basis.

Following the transfer of planning powers from the 1 April 2015 the planning publication was revised to incorporate reporting on the three new targets.  Over time there has been several additional outputs included to meet user needs, e.g. legacy applications information, variation of urban/rural splits and processing times across the suite of data tables. Some of this is informed by face-to-face contact with users but much is also informed through frequent requests for information.

A Planning Monitoring Framework was developed by DfI in collaboration with councils, and has been informed by best practice in other jurisdictions.  The framework includes a list of nine indicators.  Seven of the indicators draw on data from the NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals, with three directly relating to the statutory targets reported in the existing NI Planning Statistics publication. Due to ongoing resource pressures and reprioritisation of work further updates to this report have been delayed. The latest available publication reports data for 2021/22.

See publications at: DfI Planning Statistics.

Section 1 - QAAD assessment of Application and Enforcement data from the NI Planning Portal

Data supplier

Northern Ireland Planning Portal.

Operational context and data collection

The 1931 Planning and Housing Act (Northern Ireland) was the first piece of planning legislation in NI. Planning functions were the responsibility of the 37 local government areas consisting of County Borough Councils, County Councils, and Borough and Urban District Councils. Subsequently the 1944 Planning (Interim Development) Act (Northern Ireland) gave an important statutory baseline to the development control system.

Following the 1970 Macrory Commission review of local government, planning became a central government responsibility under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1972. The Town and Country Planning Service was established in 1973 within the Ministry of Development and then within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Planning before being absorbed into the Department which became the sole planning authority in NI responsible under the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 for planning matters.

The most recent reform of the planning system in NI is set within the context of local government reform which saw responsibility for most planning functions move from the Department to the new 11 councils in April 2015. Local representatives became the decision takers on most planning applications and set the context for these decisions through their local development plan functions. Central government from 2015 has a role to play in the oversight of a two-tier system of planning.

The Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 received Royal Assent on 4 May 2011 and it provided for the transfer of many planning functions from central government to district councils on 1 April 2015.  

The planning system makes sure the right things are built in the right places, be it houses, shops, parks, community centres or energy plants.  But it is also about the ability to shape and change the character, look and feel of the places where we live, work or visit. Responsibility for planning in NI is shared between the 11 local councils and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).

The councils are responsible for:

• Local development planning – creating a plan which will set out a clear vision of how the council area should look in the future by deciding what type and scale of development should be encouraged and where it should be located.
• Development management – determining most of the planning applications.
• Planning enforcement – investigating alleged breaches of planning control and determining what action should be taken.

DfI is responsible for:

• Determination of regionally significant and ‘called-in’ planning applications.
• Regional Development Strategy (RDS).
• Regional planning policy.
• Planning legislation.
• Performance management.
• Oversight and guidance for councils.

Up until 13 May 2022 there was a unitary administrative system (NI Planning Portal) used by the Department and all councils to record details of planning applications and enforcements activity.  From the 22 June 2022 Mid Ulster Council have run a separate planning system.  Therefore, from 1 April 2022 NI Planning Statistics have used data from the Applications and Enforcements modules in the NI Planning Portal for ten councils and the department.  These modules in the NI Planning Portal hold information on planning application activity (applications received, application status, decisions issued, etc.) and planning enforcement activity for ten councils and the Department.

Data type

Unit - Individual records of planning applications and enforcement activity.

Data content

ASRB run set data extracts directly from the NI Planning Portal to obtain planning applications and enforcement data for ten councils and the Department. The planning applications extract contains details of live applications in the system, details of applications that have been created / updated during a specific period (e.g. received, decided or withdrawn).  The enforcement extract contains details of live enforcements in the system alongside details of enforcement cases that were opened, closed, concluded or where court action was taken.

Communication with data supply partners

Until 31 March 2015 the Department of Environment were the data owners. Ownership changed on the 1 April 2015 when planning powers were transferred to councils (under the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011).  Since that point there have been data share agreements in place between the ASRB, DfI and the councils to use planning data in the production of NI Planning Statistics. This has continued following the introduction of the NI Planning Portal in 2022.

Statistical staff within ASRB have direct access to the NI Planning Portal. This enables them to run extracts from the portal independently.  Support is provided from the system administrator if required.

ASRB notify the data suppliers (ten councils and DfI) in advance of the dates they plan to lift extracts. Extracts are run monthly. Communication is generally through email to agreed planning authority contacts.

Where an anomaly arises ASRB scope out the details of the requirement and raise a query with the system administrator to take forward.  Statisticians and the system administrator staff then take forward together, agreeing and implementing any changes required.

Data source information

The NI Planning Portal is used by ten councils and the Department to process planning applications and consents, enforcement cases, property certificates, tree preservation orders etc.

Data is extracted from the NI Planning Portal Applications and Enforcements modules. These modules hold information on planning application activity (applications received, application status, decisions issued, etc.) and planning enforcement activity.

The NI Planning Portal is vast and has many guidance documents for those imputing information and working through the planning process.  Guidance is also provided for end users that make use of the public access system.

Quality assurance principles, standards and checks applied by data supply partners

A new NI Planning Portal was introduced in December 2022.  The Planning Portal is managed by TerraQuest on behalf of the Department and ten councils. It is an administrative system containing details of all planning application and enforcement activity for the Department and ten councils. The system was specifically built for planning and has been developed to meet these specific needs.

The system alongside much other planning work receipts planning applications and alleged breaches of planning / complaints.  The system records are updated and managed by the relevant planning authority.  Access to the Planning Portal is managed by planning authority administrators and the Intelligent Client Function.  Access controls are in place for permitted staff to access the system.  Multi-level controls are in place to limit access of approved users so they can only edit/read the approved/appropriate areas of interest to their work. 

The system has inbuilt validation to minimise the potential for error.  In addition, a suite of management information reports setup specific to each planning authority needs enables caseloads to be managed and input errors to be identified.  

Approved ASRB staff have read only access to the NI Planning Portal.  ASRB staff can view planning records and produce data extracts, but they are not able to make any change to the system.

Planning applications are primarily submitted online however hard copy applications can be submitted and received by planning authorities. For a planning application to be submitted online to the NI Planning Portal users need to register for an account to use this service. Once registered, users can then submit and review any planning applications that they have submitted.

Once the planning application is received (online or in hard copy) and validated the information provided will appear on the Planning Register.  The planning register has a search function and there are options to filter by planning authority and set date parameters to search for applications; alternatively, the register can be searched with a planning reference number. Guidance documentation for users is available.

On receipt of a planning application (online or hard copy) there is a validation process followed by the planning authority to ensure that all the correct documentation has been received and that applications are given the correct classifications and fields are completed uniformly and consistently.

The applications then go to a validation work queue and are generally allocated by a senior member of staff to the case officers. The case officer ensures that the legislative requirements are met for an application to be deemed valid. Each case officer within the planning authority will have an allocation work queue listing the applications they are responsible for.  The case officer is responsible for taking applications through the planning process to decision. 

The system has several management information reports to enable oversight of data and to identify any quality issues, for example 10% quality checks on applications and fees allocated. 

Planning enforcements alleged breaches / complaints are largely submitted online; they can also be submitted through hard copy using contact information provided on individual planning authority websites.

On receipt of an alleged breach / complaint (online or hard copy) there is a validation process followed to ensure that enforcements are given the correct classifications and fields are completed uniformly and consistently.

NI Planning Portal - Over time the system will be subject to changes to keep in line with legislation and policy changes.  For example, a reclassification of applications.  Any changes will be taken forward with the Planning Authorities, Intelligent Client Function and system administrator and will be fully tested outside of the portal prior to being implemented.

Producer’s quality assurance investigations and documentation

Data acquisition from the NI Planning Portal is smooth and is normally without issue. There is support available from the system administrator if any problems are encountered.

When extracts are downloaded several validation checks are carried out on the data to ensure that the data looks sensible and can be relied upon.  Each quarter when running through the setup stage of the process, values are recorded relating to key pieces on information i.e. received, decided, approved, live etc. During these stages it can be quickly recognised if something appears amiss. There is also several sense checks completed to ensure data are reliable and anything that needs queried is raised with the relevant planning authority.  During the setup phase of each quarter the main checks are (i) analysis of trends for figures; (ii) checking internal consistency and reliability of the data.

In addition, ASRB produce monthly headline summary files to measure performance for the three statutory targets at NI and council levels.  Several validation checks are carried out to ensure dates are accurate and the required pieces of information are completed. There are numerous checks carried out to ensure the key dates in the system are logical. ASRB directly work through any anomalies with planning authority staff.   

Data is validated and edited outside of the NI Planning Portal by ASRB using primarily SPSS, Microsoft Excel and ‘R’. Some manual checks are required which introduces minimal risks to quality and validation of the data.  Additional validation checks continue to be built in where a need is identified.

Strengths of data source

• Data is extracted from the live system.
• Planning data is derived from an internal administrative system which has established procedures to ensure data are of good quality.
• There is a public facing planning register which provides most of the pieces of information that are included in the extracts ASRB download; therefore, alongside system validation there is an element of public validation which increases the robustness of the data.
• Each application is input onto the system and goes through several validation checks to ensure it is allocated to the appropriate categories.
• Standard classifications used.
• There is no hard cost to ASRB for obtaining the data.
• ASRB are confident the data is of good quality.
• Data have co-ordinates which enables geographical outputs to be produced.
• Planning authorities work closely with ASRB resulting in quick resolution of any issues that may impact on data quality.

Weaknesses of data source

• It is a live system, so data published are at point and time.
• With so many users updating the system there is scope for error and carrying processes out differently within and across planning authorities.  However, in terms of date received, date valid and decision dates for planning applications and open, closed and concluded dates for enforcement cases there is minimal scope for error. ASRB also mitigate some of this with the depth of validation that is carried out on dates during their validation processes.

Section 2 - QAAD assessment of Application and Enforcement data from the Mid Ulster Planning Portal

Data supplier

Mid Ulster Planning Portal.

Operational context and data collection

Up until 13 May 2022 there was a unitary administrative system (NI Planning Portal) used by the Department and all councils to record details of planning applications and enforcements activity. From the 22 June 2022 Mid Ulster Council have run a separate planning system.  Therefore, from 1 April 2022 NI Planning Statistics have used data from the Applications and Enforcements modules of the Mid Ulster Planning Portal. These modules hold information on all planning application activity (applications received, application status, decisions issued, etc.) and planning enforcement activity within Mid Ulster.  Mid Ulster provide datasets to an agreed timetable that contain details of planning applications and enforcements to meet the reporting requirements of the NI Planning Statistics.

If an anomaly were to arise ASRB would scope out the details of the requirement and raise a query with Mid Ulster.  Mid Ulster staff would then consider and take forward any changes required and liaise back with ASRB.  ASRB would then review.

Data type

Unit - Individual records of planning applications and enforcement activity.

Data content

Mid Ulster run extracts from the Mid Ulster Planning Portal to obtain planning applications and enforcement data. The planning applications extract contains details of all live applications in the system, details of applications that have been created / updated during a specific period (e.g. received, decided or withdrawn).  The enforcement extract contains details of all live enforcements in the system alongside details of enforcement cases that were opened, closed, concluded or where court action was taken.

Communication with data supply partners

Until 31 March 2015 the Department of Environment were the data owners.  Ownership changed on the 1 April 2015 when planning powers were transferred to councils (under the Planning Act (NI) 2011).  Since that point there have been data share agreements in place between the ASRB, DfI and the councils to use planning data in the production of NI Planning Statistics.  This has continued following the introduction of the Mid Ulster Planning Portal in 2022.

Statistical staff within ASRB directly engage with the agreed contact points in Mid Ulster to request extracts, stating the date the extracts are required and the date parameters that need to be applied. These extracts have been tested against previous NI Planning Portal extracts for consistency and read across.  The Mid Ulster data was first used in the production of the first quarter of 2022/23 (April-June 2022) planning statistics.

At the start of each financial year a detailed list of extracts required with provisional dates is provided to Mid Ulster so they can update their work planner. Extracts are provided from Mid Ulster at least monthly. Communication is generally through email to agreed planning authority contacts.

This process is working well and ASRB are receiving the data extracts as needed. Where an anomaly arises within an extract ASRB staff engage directly with Mid Ulster to resolve.   Mid Ulster then address any query and provide refreshed datasets if necessary.

Data source information

The Mid Ulster Planning Portal is used by Mid Ulster to process planning applications and consents, enforcement cases, property certificates, tree preservation orders etc.

Data is extracted from the Mid Ulster Planning Portal Applications and Enforcements modules. These modules hold information on all Mid Ulster planning application activity (applications received, application status, decisions issued, etc.) and planning enforcement activity.

The Mid Ulster planning system has published information to help those imputing information and working through the planning process.  Guidance is also provided for end users that make use of the public access system.

Quality assurance principles, standards and checks applied by data supply partners

The Mid Ulster Planning Portal was introduced in June 2022.  The Planning Portal is an administrative system containing details of all planning application and enforcement activity for Mid Ulster. The system was specifically built for planning and has been developed to meet these specific needs.

The system alongside much other planning work receipts planning applications and alleged breaches of planning / complaints.  The system records are updated and managed by Mid Ulster through the decision-making process.  Access to the Planning Portal is managed by planning authority administrators. Access controls are in place for permitted staff to access the system. 

The system has inbuilt validation to minimise the potential for error.  In addition, there is a suite of management information reports setup that enables caseloads to be managed and input errors to be identified.  

Planning applications are primarily submitted online however hard copy applications can be submitted and received by Mid Ulster.

Once the planning application is received (online or in hard copy) and validated the information provided will appear on the council’s Public Access page.  The public access page has a search function and there are options to set search criteria such as status of application, development type, date parameters etc to search for applications; alternatively, the page can be searched with a planning reference number.

On receipt of a planning application (online or hard copy) there is a validation process followed by the Mid Ulster to ensure that all the correct documentation has been received and that applications are given the correct classifications and fields are completed uniformly and consistently.

The applications then go to a validation work queue – this is the step to ensure that the legislative requirements are met for an application to be deemed valid.  Once the application is deemed valid it moves to a more senior member of the planning team for allocation to case officers.  Each case officer within the planning authority will have an allocation work queue listing the applications they are responsible for.  The case officer is responsible for taking applications through the planning process to decision. 

The system has several management information reports to enable oversight of data and to identify any quality issues.

Planning enforcements alleged breaches / complaints are submitted through hard copy using contact information provided on individual planning authority websites.

On receipt of an alleged breach / complaint there is a validation process followed to ensure that enforcements are given the correct classifications and fields are completed uniformly and consistently.

Mid Ulster Planning Portal - Over time the system will be subject to changes to keep in line with legislation and policy changes.  For example, a reclassification of applications.  Any changes will be taken forward by Mid Ulster and will be fully tested outside of the live portal environment prior to being implemented.

Producer’s quality assurance investigations and documentation

Receipt of the data from the Mid Ulster Planning Portal is smooth and is normally without issue.  There is support available from the provider if any problems are encountered.

When extracts are received by ASRB several validation checks are carried out on the data to ensure that it looks sensible and can be relied upon.  Each quarter when running through the setup stage of the process, values are recorded relating to key pieces on information i.e. received, decided, approved, live etc. During these stages it can be quickly recognised if something appears amiss. There is also several sense checks completed to ensure data are reliable and anything that needs queried is raised with the planning authority. During the setup phase of each quarter the main checks are (i) analysis of trends for figures; (ii) checking internal consistency and reliability of the data.

In addition, ASRB produce monthly headline summary files to measure performance for the three statutory targets at NI and council levels.  Several validation checks are carried out to ensure dates are accurate and the required pieces of information are completed. There are numerous checks carried out to ensure the key dates in the system are logical.  ASRB directly work through any anomalies with Mid Ulster staff.   

Data is validated and edited outside of the Mid Ulster Planning Portal by ASRB using primarily SPSS, Microsoft Excel and ‘R’. Some manual checks are required which introduces minimal risks to quality and validation of the data.  Additional validation checks continue to be built in where a need is identified.

Strengths of data source

• Data is extracted from the live system.
• Planning data is derived from an administrative system which has established procedures to ensure data are of good quality.
• There is a public facing access page which provides most of the pieces of information that are included in the extracts ASRB receive; therefore, alongside system validation there is an element of public validation which increases the robustness of the data.
• Each application is input onto the system and goes through several validation questions to ensure it is allocated to the appropriate categories.
• Standard classifications used.
• There is no hard cost to ASRB for obtaining the data.
• ASRB are confident the data is of good quality.
• Data have co-ordinates which enables geographical outputs to be produced.
• Mid Ulster works closely with ASRB resulting in quick resolution of any issues that may impact on data quality.

Weaknesses of data source

• It is a live system, so data published are at point and time.
• With multiple users updating the system there is some scope for error and carrying processes out differently within the planning authority.  However, in terms of date received, date valid, decision and withdrawal dates for planning applications and open, closed and concluded dates for enforcement cases there is minimal scope for error. ASRB also mitigate some of this with the depth of validation that is carried out on dates during their validation processes.
• As this is a standalone system ASRB don’t have direct access to the data and rely on receipt of data extracts on specific dates. There is a risk that data extracts are not provided on time.  This risk is mitigated by having a process in place with Mid Ulster which provides the planning authority with details of the specific extracts requested and the dates they are needed.  Mid Ulster have also provided ASRB with additional contact points that are able to produce the required extracts if the main process does not run as planned.

Assessment of level of assurance requirements

ASRB assess that the level of risk of quality concerns in this source is low at present and that the public interest is low. This suggests that the appropriate level of assurance required for these statistics is A1 - Basic Assurance.

This means that ASRB have used the QA toolkit and have reviewed the administrative sources and published a summary in this document.

ASRB came to this decision as the counts of planning applications and enforcements are considered robust, but at published levels are of limited public interest.

ASRB will continue to assess the level of assurance and update if necessary.

ASRB therefore plan to review the QAAD on an annual basis to ensure that the assessment of the level of assurance requirements is accurate and up to date.

The next review is scheduled for Summer 2026.

Assessment of user needs (NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals)

The NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals administrative sources in relation to the data included in “Northern Ireland Planning Statistics” are considered to be of high quality. The system processes, supplier checks and validations carried out by ASRB ensure the robustness of the data.  Although there are some weaknesses in terms of using live system data ASRB consider that the data is fit-for-purpose as these would have minimal impact at the aggregate level which the data are published.

Annex A UK Statistics Authority Quality Assurance of Administrative Data Toolkit

The assessment of the NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portal data sources has been carried out in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority Quality Assurance of Administrative Data Toolkit(external link opens in a new window / tab).

Each administrative data source investigated has been evaluated according to the toolkit’s risk and profile matrix (below), reflecting the level of risk to data quality and the public interest profile of the statistics.

	Public interest profile
Level of risk of quality concerns	Lower	Medium	Higher
Low	Statistics of lower quality and lower public interest [A1]	Statistics of low quality and medium public interest [A1/A2]	Statistics of low quality and higher public interest [A1/A2]
Medium	Statistics of medium quality and lower public interest [A1/A2]	Statistics of medium quality and medium public interest [A2]	Statistics of medium quality and higher public interest [A2/A3]
High	Statistics of higher quality and lower public interest [A1/A2/A3]	Statistics of higher quality and medium public interest [A3]	Statistics of higher quality and higher public interest [A3]

A risk/profile matrix for NI and Mid Ulster Planning Portals is included below. The matrix reflects the level of risk of data quality concerns and the public interest profile of the statistics determined by a review undertaken by the ASRB Planning Statistics team using the information contained within the UK Statistics Authority’s Administrative Data Quality Assurance Toolkit(external link opens in a new window / tab).

Risk Profile matrix of ASRB Planning Statistics when QAAD Toolkit applied

ASRB Statistic	Data Quality Concern	Public Interest	Risk Profile Rating
Planning Applications (NI Planning Portal)	Low	Low	A1
Enforcement Records (NI Planning Portal)	Low	Low	A1
Planning Applications (Mid Ulster Planning Portal)	Low	Low	A1
Enforcement Records (Mid Ulster Planning Portal)	Low	Low	A1

A1 = Basic assurance, A2 = Enhanced assurance, A3 = Comprehensive assurance

Further information regarding the allocation of matrix scores can be made available by contacting us using the details at the start of this document.