The government has published the following response to the consultation titled "Fees for planning applications" (which ran for 8 weeks from 23/03/2026 until 18/05/2026):

Response document:

• July 2026: Fees for planning applications - government response (link) (pdf print version of HTML webpage).

Notes:

• The "Introduction" at the start of the above response document includes the following information:
  - "The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 introduced new powers for local fee setting which will enable local planning authorities to set their own planning application fees through a local variation model. Under this approach, a national default fee will remain in place and apply to all local planning authorities, unless an authority chooses to vary from the default fee for any or all application fee categories to reflect their own costs.".
  - "Our public consultation which ran from 23 March to 18 May sought views on the proposed National Default Fee Schedule, including the appropriate level of fees, whether structural changes should be made to specific fee categories, and the wider framework for local fee setting. It also sought views on related measures, including the proposed statutory consultee surcharge and the future role of discretionary services.".
  - "Taken together, the government’s approach is phased. In the immediate term, we will increase national planning fees, largely retaining the existing fee categories, to improve cost recovery and support service delivery. We will then introduce measures for local fee setting, which will enable authorities to vary fees to reflect local costs, and also introduce a planning surcharge for statutory consultees. This approach balances the need for early improvements in resourcing with longer-term structural reform, including any further structural reforms to fee categories,  to support a more sustainable and responsive fee regime.".
• The "Next steps" section at the end of the above response document includes the following information:
  - "The government intends to take forward regulations to increase planning application fees in the summer, with the aim of bringing these into force before the end of the year, subject to Parliamentary approval.".
  - "Further structural reforms to planning fees, and the detailed design and operation of local fee setting, will be taken forward through separate regulations, which we also intend to bring forward by the end of the year.".
  - "We recognise the importance of clear national guidance to support the introduction of local fee setting. The views provided through this consultation will inform the development of that guidance, including on evidencing costs, ensuring transparency and promoting consistency across authorities.".
  - "We will also undertake a further consultation before the end of the year on the detailed design and implementation of the proposed planning fee surcharge, including how it should operate in practice and be linked to improved performance of statutory consultees.".

Other sources of information:

• March 2026: Fees for planning applications (link) (pdf print version of HTML webpage).
  - Note: For more information about the above document, please view this post.
  
• 21 July 2026: Letter from MHCLG to Chief Planning Officers about planning committees, biodiversity net gain, and planning fees (pdf) (link).