Extract: unlocking England’s planning data
England's planning authorities hold a wealth of information that applicants, software developers and...
The planning technology projects changing the planning system
New technology is reshaping how planning is delivered – improving efficiency, transparency and outco...
From emergency to sustainability: creating Share Homes for Ukraine data
In response to Russia’s full scale illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the government launched the ...
Transforming planning with PlanX and new funding to help local planning authorities reap the rewards
Dozens of local planning authorities (LPAs) are now publishing their planning data openly and modern...
Introducing Local AI
Local AI is a new team in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), working...
New pilot to help councils identify and support residents at risk to vulnerability earlier
Local Digital is pleased to share that the Scalable Approach to Vulnerability via Interoperability (...
International Women’s Day: Giving, growing and leading in digital
To celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026 on Sunday, 8 March, 4 colleagues in leadership rol...
Shaping the future of open data with Open Data Communities
A screenshot of the homepage of the new Open Data Communities platform Open data plays a vital role ...
Deliver grant funding and Access grant funding: a digital service built to last
To build a house, you need a sound infrastructure. There’s no point in designing a kitchen that meet...
A new digital and cyber playbook to support local government during reorganisation
We are pleased to share that the first release of our Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Digital ...
What user research taught us about designing useful digital planning case studies
Case studies are widely used in government to share learning, explain what has been tried, and help ...
Stress-testing an AI tool to explore its potential for faster local plans and greater citizen engagement
Local plan consultations can generate thousands of responses from members of the public, the develop...
Progressing my senior developer career with an apprenticeship
National Apprenticeship Week is a chance to showcase the impact of apprenticeships on both individua...
Funding Service: How we built a new funding platform for MHCLG
Over the past year, the Funding Service has been building a new funding platform for the Ministry of...
Testing new planning data standards with industry: what we learned from phase 1 and where we go next
In November we shared details of 5 pilots testing new data standards for planning applications. Thes...
Our journey to delivering the Fire and Rescue Data Platform
Image credit: istock.com/VV Shots When most people think about Fire and Rescue Services (FRS), they ...
More local planning authorities commit to making their planning data open and join Open Digital Planning
Imagine being able to instantly check whether a property sits in a conservation area or whether a tr...
Building a data model for planning decisions
Every year, local planning authorities make hundreds of thousands of planning decisions. But right n...
Modernising democracy: Transforming the Electoral registration officer portal
The Electoral registration officer portal (EROP) is a secure web portal used by Electoral Registrati...
A year of transforming England’s planning system
We're wrapping up another year for the MHCLG Digital Planning Programme – and what a year it’s been....
The future of the Funding Service: solving a whole problem for users
The Funding Service is a multidisciplinary team in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Go...
How collaboration and innovation came together to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping
Birmingham's Millennium Point became the hub for something rather special a couple of weeks ago: the...
Understanding residents' experiences of housing safety and quality
The System Design team at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) includes ...
New draft guidance published to support faster and clearer local plan-making
Local plans are the backbone of England’s planning system, shaping how places grow and develop. But ...
International Volunteer Day: making a difference in our communities
Every year, International Volunteer Day highlights the important role volunteering plays in strength...
Mapping the housing safety and quality system
The System Design team at the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) includes ...
Testing new planning data specifications with industry: 5 pilot partnerships paving the way
Faster and more efficient planning relies on open, accessible and trustworthy planning data. But dat...
The Local Deprivation Explorer: Making deprivation data easier to find, understand and use
The Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) rank over 33,000 small areas across the country by levels ...
Introducing the Mayoral Data Council: making data work for devolution
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is working with England's Mayoral ...
Supporting councils with a Cyber Incident Response service
MHCLG is making a new Cyber Incident Response (CIR) service available to English councils, helping t...