Housing Development and Planning Policy: FOI release

Information requested

1. A breakdown of all current housing development projects approved by your office within the last two years, including their locations, sizes, and intended purposes.

2. Copies of any correspondence, reports, or memos exchanged between your office and private developers or housing associations regarding potential development projects within 2023. [Clarification received this refers to the Minister for Housing’s private office and ‘by potential development projects in 2023, it is meant to be the ones proposed by the United Kingdom's Prime Minister.

(Ref: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/we-will-build-1-million-new-homes-says-primeminister)’]

3. Details of any financial incentives, subsidies, or grants provided by your office to housing developers or local authorities for the purpose of encouraging affordable housing construction.

4. Any internal assessments or reports conducted by your department regarding the impact of recent planning policy changes on housing affordability and availability. [Clarification received “not sure if it is relevant to Scotland, but Prime Minister of the United Kingdom did announced recent policy changes to britain housing schemes this month”.

(Ref: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-housebuilding-targets-britain-xzb228h05)’].

5. Information on any consultations or public hearings held by your office in relation to proposed changes to local government structures or planning regulations. [Clarification received “last five years would be sufficient”].

Response

I have taken each of your questions in turn and provided a response below. Questions 1-3 have been answered under FOISA.

As the information you have requested for questions 4 and 5 is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with those questions under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Request 1: I enclose a copy of all of the information you requested.

Request 2: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section s.38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why that exemption(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Request 3: All of the information you requested is available from the Scottish Government website with links to all of the financial incentives, subsidies or grants provided by the Scottish Government to housing developers or local authorities for the purpose of encouraging affordable housing construction being listed below. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

• Affordable Housing Supply Programme - Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP): process and procedures MHDGN 2023/01 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Partnership Support for Regeneration - Partnership Support for Regeneration (PSR): guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Rural and Islands Housing Fund - Rural Housing Fund and Islands Housing Fund: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Housing Infrastructure Fund - Housing Infrastructure Fund : guidance for applications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Mid-Market Rent Invitation - [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Mid-Market Rent – New Offer - Outcomes (nrscotland.gov.uk)
• Innovative Finance - [ARCHIVED CONTENT] More homes: Innovative financing - gov.scot (nrscotland.gov.uk)
• Gypsy Traveller Action Fund: Published Interim Gypsy/Traveller site design guide and Guidance and Criteria for Gypsy/Traveller Accommodation Fund

Vacant and Derelict Land Investment Programme: supports place-based approaches to delivering regeneration and inclusive growth, and is aligned to the Place Principle. It aims to help tackle disadvantage and inequality and meet climate change targets, delivered through four pillars of action: sustained place-based approaches; urban green spaces; communityled regeneration; low carbon developments and renewables, including housing (this website is currently being updated).

Request 4: In regards to your fourth request for any internal assessments or reports conducted by the Scottish Government regarding the impact of recent UK Government planning policy changes on housing affordability and availability, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Request 5: Planning regulations: Some of the information you have requested is available from our transformingplanning.scot website. Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. For ease I include links to the relevant pages below. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

• https://www.transformingplanning.scot/planning-reform/legislation/
• https://www.transformingplanning.scot/planning-reform/work-packages/development-planning/

Local Government Structures: Information on consultations and public hearings held in relation to local government structures are also available online:

Consultation and information relating to the request

• Local development planning - regulations and guidance: consultation - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space
• Democracy matters phase 2 consultation - local governance review - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Local Governance Review - Improving public services - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Democracy Matters - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space

Committee meetings and all related correspondence

• Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee | Scottish Parliament Website
• Local Development Planning: Regulations & Guidance Consultation (www.gov.scot)

As above, if however you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

ANNEX
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

Request 2: An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA applies to some of the information you requested. Personal information (names, email addresses and phone numbers) have been redacted. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption.

Request 4: Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because planning is a fully devolved function of the Scottish Government, therefore does not conduct assessments or reports based on planning policy changes in the UK Government.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about Assessments or reports conducted by the Scottish Government in regards to UK Government policy changes, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

However, you may find our transformingplanning.scot website useful, which sets out the Scottish Government’s planning housing policy and associated impact assessments - https://www.transformingplanning.scot/national-planningframework/housing/

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202400399227 - Information Released - Annex

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