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For councils, public bodies and panel providers

Make your design review panel arrangements easier to trust.

Who checks conflicts of interest? How is the panel's advice agreed and recorded? We help you check the arrangements behind your panel and decide what, if anything, needs to change.

For councils and panel providers across England.

Discuss your panel arrangementsNeed an independent review? See the options

Keep your existing panel provider. No obligation to proceed. Questions? 01395 265768.

Standard Governance Review

£4,750 + VAT

Fixed fee for a defined standard scope

  • One legal entity and one review arrangement
  • Up to 12 core documents or 250 pages
  • 75-minute evidence meeting
  • Concise 12-18 page findings report
  • 45-minute briefing for senior colleagues
  • One round to correct factual errors

Target issue within 15 working days of complete evidence and payment, subject to the agreed programme—not from booking.

Discuss a Standard Review
Evidence-ledModel-neutralProportionateNon-statutoryNo accreditation

This service is provided by Design Review Ltd, the company behind The Design Review Panel. We are open about that connection. You can use these services with any panel provider, or with a panel you run yourself.

Read the independence safeguards

Not sure where to start?

Choose the starting point that fits the job.

Need an outside view? Tell us what is prompting the review and any deadline. We can help you decide whether the Standard or Enhanced Review is the right fit before you commit.

Prefer to start on your own? The online Health Check is £500 + VAT (£600 total). Work through it privately, at your own pace, with no appointment. You can try a free example first.

Already need an external written view for colleagues, members or scrutiny? Go straight to the £4,750 + VAT Standard Review. There is no need to buy the Health Check first.

Start your Health Check — £500 + VATTry a real question and see its outputRequest an independent reviewMeet the people behind the serviceInformation for your procurement teamSelf-assessment, not independent assurance. No obligation to book a review.

Choose what you need

Work through it yourself, or ask us to review it.

The Health Check is a practical first step if you want to understand where things stand. If you already need an independent opinion for colleagues, members or a scrutiny process, ask us about an independent review.

Online · self-service · no appointment

Governance Health Check

£500 + VAT

Work through the questions online, at your own pace. Find out what is documented, where there are gaps and what to tackle first. No appointment or discussion with a reviewer is required.

  • Private workspace with saved progress
  • A guide to the records you need to check
  • 60 questions, with scores linked to your evidence
  • A summary and downloadable 90-day action plan

£600 including VAT. Self-assessment, not independent assurance. One-off payment for one named arrangement. Access opens after payment is verified.

Buy the online Health Check

Independent written review

Independent review

Standard Governance Review

£4,750 + VAT

A reviewer examines the evidence, talks it through with you and gives you a written opinion on one organisation's panel arrangements.

  • Up to 12 core documents or 250 pages
  • 75-minute evidence meeting
  • Concise 12–18 page findings report
  • Senior briefing and a chance to correct factual errors

Target report issue within 15 working days of complete evidence and payment, subject to the agreed programme—not from booking. Tell us about any fixed deadline before requesting a date.

Enquire about a Standard Review ↗

For more complex arrangements

Enhanced Assurance Review

£13,500 + VAT

More time to hear from the people involved, examine a shared or complex arrangement and work through the findings with senior colleagues.

  • Lead reviewer plus independent peer reviewer
  • Up to six stakeholder evidence conversations
  • Expanded findings and 90-day action plan
  • Facilitated senior workshop and follow-up review

Final scope is confirmed before appointment.

Discuss an Enhanced Review ↗Read the full published scope →

We handle review enquiries personally. We agree the scope, reviewer and programme with you, then arrange the appointment and invoice. The separate online Health Check is paid securely through PayPal; we do not receive your full card details. Review meetings normally need to be at least 21 calendar days ahead and remain provisional until the conflicts check is complete and cleared funds are received at least 14 calendar days before the evidence meeting, unless public-sector purchase-order terms have been expressly agreed in writing. The Health Check is optional: you do not have to buy it before requesting a review. You can enquire about a review now.

Put the findings into practice

Need to update your documents?

Start with ten editable templates, from terms of reference to a conflicts register, for one organisation and one named panel arrangement. The pack is £450 + VAT on its own, or £850 + VAT when bundled with the Governance Health Check.

Explore the documentsAsk about the forthcoming £850 bundle →

Why this matters

Could you explain how your panel is run if someone asked?

You may know your panel works well. But if a member, applicant or colleague asks how interests are declared, who appoints reviewers or who signs off advice, can you point them to a clear, current record?

People change roles and arrangements evolve. A missing record does not automatically mean something is wrong. Checking it now gives you time to put things in order before a renewal, complaint or scrutiny meeting.

Who it is for

For the people responsible for a design review panel.

Council planning teams

Check the arrangements you manage, commission or share with another authority.

Heads of service and oversight teams

Get a clearer basis for answering questions from members, scrutiny or internal audit.

Panel managers and chairs

Check that your written procedures reflect what actually happens.

Other public bodies and housing organisations

Review the panels you use, whether they are internal, external or shared.

When to commission

A useful time to check your arrangements.

When setting up a new design review arrangement.

Before re-procuring, renewing or extending a panel contract.

Following a challenge to impartiality by an applicant, objector or member.

In response to an internal-audit, scrutiny or monitoring-officer query.

Before your panel considers a particularly sensitive or contested scheme.

When a periodic governance review falls due.

Review scope

What we look at.

Every product uses the Design Review Governance Framework (v1.0), informed by the free, open-source Design Review Code of Conduct. We apply it to the way your panel is actually run.

01

Mandate, purpose and accountability

Is the panel's purpose written down, and is it clear who is responsible for it?

02

Independence, funding and separation

Can you explain who funds the panel and how its advice is kept independent?

03

Conflicts, interests and conduct

Are interests declared, conflicts checked and decisions about them recorded?

04

Commissioning, contracting and financial controls

Do the appointment, contract and payment arrangements match what was agreed?

05

Panel recruitment, composition and competence

How are panellists chosen, and do they have the skills and experience the work needs?

06

Scheme and panel selection, timing and proportionality

Who decides which schemes go to the panel, when they are reviewed and who takes part?

07

Preparation, evidence and participation

Do reviewers have the right information, and do participants know their roles?

08

Review conduct, advice and reporting

Is there a clear process for chairing meetings, agreeing advice and issuing reports?

09

Transparency, confidentiality, records, data and AI

What is published, what is kept confidential, and how are records, data and AI handled?

10

Accountability, quality, outcomes and improvement

How do you deal with concerns, check the panel's work and learn from feedback?

Read the frameworkDownload the framework paper ↗

What you receive

A report you can use with your colleagues.

An independent review sets out what we checked, what is working and what needs attention. It explains the reasons, so you can discuss the findings with colleagues and agree what happens next.

What we checkedThe documents and information behind our findings.
StrengthsWhat is working well and should be kept.
What needs attentionMissing records, unclear responsibilities or gaps in practice.
PrioritiesWhat to tackle first, and why.
View a fictional specimen report ↗Read an illustrative example before you decide. This is not a client case study.

How it works

What happens when you book an independent review.

  1. 01

    Agree the scope

    We confirm which panel arrangements you want reviewed and check for conflicts of interest.

  2. 02

    Gather the records

    We agree how you will share the documents securely and let you know if anything is missing.

  3. 03

    Talk it through

    We meet you to understand how the written arrangements work in practice.

  4. 04

    Receive the report

    You get our findings, the reasons behind them and the changes we recommend.

  5. 05

    Discuss the findings

    We brief your senior colleagues and give you one opportunity to correct factual errors.

A quick, free starting point

Which of these could you put your hands on?

Tick the areas where you have current records and know what happens in practice. This quick checklist is separate from the full £500 Health Check. Nothing here is submitted or stored; there is no pass or fail.

Want to talk it through? We can put the unticked areas into the email draft below. Nothing is sent until you send the email yourself.

Who undertakes the review

Meet the people you would work with.

Andy Robbins, Tim Burton and Jonathan Braddick bring experience of running panels and leading council planning services. We choose your lead reviewer to suit the work, after checking availability and conflicts.

Andy RobbinsChartered Town Planner · Local-government service leaderTim BurtonChartered Town Planner · Former Head of PlanningJonathan BraddickChartered Architect · Founder and ChairRead full profiles

Independence safeguards

Keep your provider. Get an honest review.

No badge, compliance mark or permanent approved status.

No implication that another provider or delivery model is inferior.

Relevant common ownership and commercial interests are disclosed.

Design Review Ltd does not enter framework agreements with parties whose governance arrangements it reviews.

Findings are separated from any optional implementation appointment.

High-profile or contested assignments may receive external peer review.

Case studies are never published without express client permission.

Design Review Ltd separately provides design review services that are typically commissioned and funded by applicants. This interest is disclosed and assessed before appointment. Reviewer selection, documented safeguards and control of findings must protect both actual and reasonably perceived independence; assignments are declined where that cannot be achieved.

Read the conflicts and independence policy →

Questions

A few things you may want to know.

Your contract is with Design Review Ltd (company number 06512522), the company behind The Design Review Panel. We hold professional indemnity insurance and can provide cover details. We check for conflicts of interest before taking on each independent review.

View all frequently asked questions

Ready to talk it through?

Ask one question or request a callback.

Not sure which option fits, what documents you need or how your organisation can pay? Ask here. You do not need to prepare a brief before getting in touch.

Telephone01395 265768Emailgovernance@designreviewpanel.co.uk

Speak directly to us

Tell us what you need to check.

Email Jonathan with your organisation, the panel arrangement you want reviewed and any deadline. A few lines are enough. We will discuss the scope, check conflicts and availability, and agree the next steps with you.

Open an email enquiryCall 01395 265768

governance@designreviewpanel.co.uk

The email button opens your email app; nothing is sent until you press Send. If it does not open, copy the address above into your email service. An enquiry is not a booking or a commitment to pay. Please do not send confidential evidence at this stage.