Local authorities which fail to process planning applications fast enough are also feeling the heat from Government.Fifteen local planning authorities with a poor record of handling planning applications will have new powers used against them to drive up performance.
The authorities will be required to handle 65% of their planning cases in eight weeks. Even this falls short of the Government’s target figure for 80% of such business to be processed in that timescale. 

The Government has appointed an NHS insider to act as chairman of the new ‘rapid response’ authority to handle concerns about doctors’ performance.The new National Clinical Assessment Authority (NCAA) comes both in the wake of scandals like the Shipman case and longer term concerns about the General Medical Council’s (GMC) tardiness in handling complaint about doctors.