Effective community engagement in local development planning guidance: child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

Analysis of Evidence

The evidence points to potential interactions between the guidance and young people with protected characteristics of Age; Disability; Race; and Religion or Belief. The evidence doesn’t indicate further groups within those categories where the guidance may have a differential effect as the overall impact is that young people have a desire for further involvement in decision making that affects them and the guidance responds to that in so far as it can as a high-level framework.

The evidence points to a desire for children and young people to have access to greater involvement in decisions within the planning system and that there may be particular barriers for children and young people: with a disability; who identify as Gypsy/Traveller; and who have English as a second language. The guidance would have positive effects in that children and young people are specifically highlighted and the levels of engagement can help them to understand where their involvement in the LDP process is likely to be most influential. This will help the involvement of children and young people to be more targeted and therefore more effective in enabling their voices to be heard at appropriate points during the process, and for them to be kept informed throughout, which will have positive effects for Articles 3, 12, 13 and 23.