Development plan amendment regulations: consultation response summary

Question 8

Question 8A)

To what extent do you agree that all amendments to the NPF should have to be approved by a resolution of the Scottish Parliament?

There were 46 responses to Question 8A, which have been set out by respondent type in Table 8 below.

Most (a combined 80.4%) of respondents were supportive of an amendment to the NPF being approved by a resolution of the Scottish Parliament, including all professional representative bodies. There were some neutral responses, while one respondent disagreed with this proposal.

Question 8B)

Where applicable, please give reasons for your answer.

31 respondents provided further comment at Question 8B.

Summary /Themes

The consensus across those who were supportive of the proposal was that this would provide a consistent approach and provide democratic oversight to a key part of the statutory development plan.

This was reflected across the themes emerging from the answers, with support for the transparency this provides coming across strongly.

Of the responses that were neutral, there was a suggestion that parliamentary resolution for a minor amendment may not be required, and that having such as a mandatory process could add delays that could otherwise be avoided. Equally, there was an understanding of the requirement to be consistent across the amendment process.

The one respondent who opposed the proposal did not oppose the alignment with the full review process or the need to engage parliament, however they stated that a full parliamentary resolution on minor, technical amendments or specific policies may not be a proportionate. They suggested that approval be delegated to committee level.