In July 2020, Transparency International UK (TI-UK) published a research report on corruption risks in local government planning decisions.1 The research for this report included a standardised assessment of corruption risks across 50 different local authorities in England with a responsibility for housing planning decisions. This assessment looked at how local authorities compared against good practice standards for managing corruption risks. Our research found that, overall, local authorities do not meet good practice standards for ensuring propriety in the planning process.
In this document, we set out a 10-point plan for how local authorities in London can strengthen their safeguards against impropriety in planning. These should be implemented alongside councils’ compliance with their statutory obligations to transparency and whistleblowing protection; for example, the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, and the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.