Effective community engagement in local development planning guidance: impact assessments

9. Partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

9.1. See Section 4 for the framing of the guidance and its objectives. This is a partial assessment as public consultation will be undertaken on the draft ECEG and the impact assessments prior to finalisation.

Consultation within Government

9.2. As procedural matters, responsibility for these issues lies mainly with the Government’s Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division. The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals was also invited to comment on the draft ECEG.

Public consultation

9.3. The Scottish Government has yet to publicly consult on proposals contained within the draft ECEG. Section 2 and the draft ECEG includes details of the consultation.

9.4. As part of the arrangements for developing proposals, the Government created a Community Engagement Working Group. The framework of the proposals was shared with this group and Heads of Planning Scotland in advance of the formal consultation.

Business

9.5. This guidance is not primarily for business and does not result in additional requirements on businesses. There may be some tangential implications for community engagement practitioners and planning consultants who may see the opportunity to support communities and planning authorities in undertaking community engagement.

9.6. The public consultation period offers the opportunity for discussion with community engagement practitioners. Using the consultation period to engage with businesses is supported by the current BRIA guidance.^[26]

Options

A: Produce effective community engagement in local development planning guidance

Option 1: Do nothing

9.7. In this option, the Scottish Government would remain silent on providing updated guidance on effective community engagement in local development planning as linked to new style local development plans. Current advice contained in Planning Advice Note 3/2010 would remain in place. Guidance would not reflect changes to the National Standards for Community Engagement. This option would not offer support for planning authorities to comply with their statutory duties under planning and other legislation.

Option 2: Develop guidance on effective community engagement

9.8. There is strong support for a plan-led planning system in Scotland. The Scottish Government wants plans to be informed by consultation and collaboration so that they are relevant, accessible and interest people.

9.9. Planning authorities already engage with their local communities on local development plans. The 2019 Act has introduced a range of new provisions designed to enhance community engagement in the Scottish planning system. These provisions primarily focus on enhancing engagement with the public at large at the evidence report stage. Further provisions relate to enhanced opportunities for children and young people, Gypsies and Travellers, disabled people and community councils to be more involved in shaping the places they stay.

9.10. With changes to legislation and to the National Standards for Community Engagement, we see value in providing new guidance that sets the framework for expectations for engagement in the preparation of local development plans.

9.11. We are therefore proposing to take forward Option 2.

B: Include guidance on linking associated strategies and assessments

Option 1: Do nothing

9.12. In this option, the guidance would focus on the engagement on the core local development plan only. It would remain silent about engagement on other strategies and assessments which support the preparation of the local development plan. These include Open Space Strategies, Play Sufficiency Assessments, Forestry and Woodland Strategies plus environmental and societal impact assessments. The integration of the engagement processes would be for the planning authority to consider.

Option 2: Include guidance on associated strategies and assessments

9.13. As noted above, a range of strategies and assessments sit alongside the preparation of the local development plan. These extend beyond planning legislation and cover the potential for both environmental and societal impacts. The Government is looking to support planning authorities to comply with their statutory duties under both planning and other legislation, offering opportunities to link engagement processes to better use resources and reduce the potential for consultation fatigue.

9.14. We are therefore proposing to take forward Option 2.

Sectors and groups affected

9.15. Communities. The focus of the guidance will be to support communities to engage effectively in local development planning. The guidance will recognise that people have the right to contribute to, and to influence, the decisions that affect their places, lives, choices and life chances. People also experience a variety of challenges in both engaging with the planning system, and having the system meet their needs. It will provide clarity on the nature of engagement at each stage in the process, helping manage expectations and allowing people to make an informed choice about getting involved.

9.16. Planning authorities. Planning authorities have a range of new and existing duties to engage with their communities. This extends throughout the preparation of the local development plan. New engagement requirements have the potential to have significant impacts on local authority teams involved in the local development plan process and how they take this work forward. The guidance stems from legislative changes that were intended to strengthen local development plans, reducing the time spent on producing plans and giving them a greater focus on place and delivery.

9.17. Business. The focus on the guidance is engagement with the community. The contents of local development plans will however be relevant to all business sectors across Scotland. The most significant impacts will be on those businesses that are dependent on the planning system for identifying new sites for their ongoing operations. This will, in particular, include housebuilders, business, retail and commercial property developers, the renewable energy sector, digital network providers, tourism and culture, and the minerals and aquaculture sectors. However, the ECEG does not address thematic topics for inclusion in local development plans nor does it address where sites should be allocated, so those businesses affected by the themes and allocations addressed in a local development plan won’t be affected by the guidance in that regard.

9.18. There may also be some tangential implications for community engagement practitioners and planning consultants who may see the opportunity to support communities in their engagement. There may also be scope for planning authorities to use engagement techniques where a third party is well placed to provide support.

9.19. Agencies and Public Bodies. Whilst the focus of the ECEG is on planning authorities engaging the public at large / communities, there is the potential for some effects for agencies and public bodies where individual agencies and bodies are looking to progress projects through the local development plan. Agencies and public bodies may also have experience in engaging communities on large projects which may have a cross over with the work planning authorities will undertake to engage communities.

Benefits

A: Prepare guidance on effective community engagement in local development planning

9.20. There is a significant opportunity to support a plan-led planning system in Scotland. Plans will be informed by engagement so that they are relevant, accessible and interest people.

B: Include guidance linking associated strategies and assessments

9.21. Associated strategies and assessments cover the potential for both environmental and societal impacts. The guidance has the opportunity to support planning authorities to comply with their statutory duties under both planning and other legislation, offering opportunities to link engagement processes to better use resources and reduce the potential for consultation fatigue.

Costs

A: Prepare guidance on effective community engagement in local development planning

9.22. There is limited information in the public domain on the costs of individual elements of developing a local development plan, including the costs of engagement.

9.23. In support of the Scottish Parliament’s scrutiny of the 2017 Planning Bill, the Scottish Government prepared an accompanying Financial Memorandum which was updated following the Stage 2 scrutiny.^[27] Though not an exact fit due to changes in provisions at Stage 3 of the Bill scrutiny process, it noted that while much of the engagement is likely already to take place, there will be additional costs for some of the specific requirements of the Bill. It estimated that the production of and consultation on the additional draft evidence report will require the equivalent of one senior planner for nine months, and the other requirements together will require similar effort. This gives a total of around £80,000 per plan, or £2.7 million in total over 10 years. However, the ECEG does not set out the method or total extent of engagement to occur, rather it provides a framework within which engagement can occur and resources be appropriately targeted.

9.24. These costs do not reflect potential additional costs for communities or the public at large of the enhanced engagement on the local development plan. Such costs may include travel, time away from work, arrangements for caring responsibilities, and access to the internet. However, these costs would be incurred in any case. The guidance helps people prioritise the stages of the local development plan process when they may incur costs but can make most effective use of their time and contribution. This may avoid people incurring costs through time and effort in engaging at points in the process where the engagement is likely to be less effective.

B: Prepare guidance on effective community engagement in local development planning

9.25. None anticipated. The approach would offer opportunities to link engagement processes to better use resources and reduce the potential for consultation fatigue.

Regulatory and EU alignment impacts

9.26. Like the conclusion for the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the local development plan regulations and guidance,^[28] the ECEG proposed is not likely to impact on intra-UK trade, international trade and investment, or the Scottish Government’s policy to maintain alignment with the EU.

Scottish firms impact test

9.27. This is a partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment and the public consultation on the draft ECEG offers the opportunity for discussion with community engagement practitioners.

9.28. The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the local development plans regulations and guidance notes that there has been engagement with business in their design, including a questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire were very limited but points made in those responses about resourcing and skills in planning authorities, including differences in cost between urban and rural authorities are, in part, relevant to the ECEG.

9.29. The framework for engagement established by the draft guidance should help planning authorities target their resources proportionately at the different stages of local development plan preparation, which may help mitigate, to some degree, resource pressures being experienced.

Competition assessment

9.30. Like the conclusion for the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment on the local development plan regulations and guidance, there are no obvious impacts on competition from the ECEG at this stage.

Consumer assessment

9.31. Like the conclusion for the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment on the local development plan regulations and guidance, it is not anticipated that the ECEG will have any impact on consumers.

Test run of business forms

9.32. No new forms are proposed.

Digital impact test

9.33. The guidance does not require particular methods of engagement. Publicity arrangements included in the 1997 Act are not altered by the ECEG. The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the local development plan regulations and guidance did not conclude that the regulations would have any impact on digital technologies or on traditional or offline businesses.

Legal Aid impact test

9.34. It is not considered that the guidance would affect claims for legal aid.

Enforcement, sanctions and monitoring

9.35. The requirement for planning authorities to consider the guidance, once in force, is governed by the 1997 Act as amended. Although the guidance will assist planning authorities in meeting their duties for engagement in local development plan preparation, it is for planning authorities to ensure that their plans and processes are legally compliant.

Implementation and delivery plan

9.36. Like the conclusion for the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment of the local development plans and guidance, it is expected that all planning authorities will have adopted a new style local development plan within five years of the local development plan regulations coming into force. The ECEG would be utilised by planning authorities within that timeframe to inform the approach to engagement in the preparation of their local development plans.

Post-implementation review

9.37. The potential for monitoring and review is set out in Section 4.

Summary and recommendation

9.38. It is anticipated that business related impacts will be tangentially for practitioners in community engagement and the opportunities for planning authorities to utilise the community engagement services of third parties. Both Option 2s are recommended, that is to develop the effective community engagement guidance and that the guidance should link with associated strategies and assessments. Public consultation is to be undertaken that may provide further information to inform the assessment and conclusions it makes.

Summary Costs and Benefits Table

Option	Total benefit per annum: economic, environmental, social	Total cost per annum: economic, environmental, social - policy and administrative
Produce effective community engagement in local development planning guidance
Option 2 – preferred option	Significant opportunity to support a plan-led planning system in Scotland. Plans will be informed by consultation and collaboration so that they are relevant, accessible and interest people.	The guidance helps people prioritise the stages of the local development plan process when they may incur costs but can make most effective use of their time and contribution. This may avoid people incurring costs through time and effort in engaging at points in the process where the engagement is likely to be less effective. The draft guidance should help planning authorities target their resources proportionately at the different stages of local development plan preparation, which may help mitigate to some degree resource pressures being experienced.
Option 1 – Do nothing	No benefits.	No reflection of changes to the National Standards for Community Engagement in guidance. No support for planning authorities to comply with their statutory duties under planning and other legislation.
Include guidance on linking associated strategies and assessments
Option 2 – preferred option	Support for planning authorities to comply with their statutory duties under both planning and other legislation, offering opportunities to link engagement processes to better use resources and reduce the potential for consultation fatigue.	None anticipated.
Option 1 – do nothing	No benefits.	None anticipated.

Declaration and publication

Partial business and regulatory impact assessment

9.39. I have read the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment and I am satisfied that, given the available evidence, it represents a reasonable view of the likely costs, benefits and impact of the leading options. I am satisfied that business impact has been assessed with the support of businesses in Scotland.*

* Noting the opportunity for community engagement practitioner discussions highlighted in paragraph 9.6.

Signed:

Date: 20 March 2023

Tom Arthur MSP

Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth

Scottish Government Contact point: chief.planner@gov.scot