Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, for what purposes the Planning Inspectorate has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is key to delivering the outcomes set out in the blueprint for modern digital government published on 21 January 2025. The policy paper can be found on gov.uk here.

The Planning Inspectorate has undertaken the following exploratory work in relation to AI in the past 12 months:

· The Inspectorate issued guidance on use of artificial intelligence as part of any appeal, application or examination being dealt with by the Planning Inspectorate.

· The Inspectorate established an Artificial Intelligence Governance Board as per the government’s Generative AI Framework.

· The Inspectorate investigated the use of Artificial Intelligence tools to support in the redaction of the data and documents it publishes, as necessary.

· The Inspectorate investigated the use of tools powered by artificial intelligence to create visualisations and extract insights from data about casework for internal staff use only.

· The Inspectorate undertook the first phase of internal testing of Microsoft CoPilot tools for staff to establish their impact and ensure appropriate security measures are in place.

The Planning Inspectorate can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

The Planning Inspectorate also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, for expert advice.