Housing Land Audit guidance: impact assessment summary

Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSD)

Fairer Scotland Duty assessment not required declaration

Policy title: Housing Land Audit Guidance

Directorate: Planning, Architecture and Regeneration

Division: Transforming Planning Unit

Team: Housing and Development Planning

Policy lead responsible for taking the decision: Carrie Thomson

Rationale for decision: The Fairer Scotland Duty applies to ‘decisions of a strategic nature’ – these are the key, high-level decisions that the public sector takes, such as deciding priorities and setting objectives. We have considered the Fairer Scotland Duty Guidance for Public Bodies, and its advice on defining ‘strategic decisions’. In general, these will be decisions that affect how the public body fulfils its intended purpose, often over a significant period of time. They may also be coordinated with other strategic decisions as part of an overarching plan. These would normally include strategy documents, decisions about setting priorities, allocating resources, delivery or implementation and commissioning services – all decisions agreed at Board level (or equivalent).

The Duty also applies to any changes to, or reviews of, these decisions, not just the development of new strategic documents. Strategic decisions will have a major impact on the way in which other tactical and day-to-day operational decisions are taken; but they are not in themselves tactical or operational.

This proposal relates to the preparation of guidance on housing land audits to support the implementation of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), adopted by Scottish Ministers on 13 February 2023.

The document provides detail on the preparation, presentation and publication of housing land audits to support the implementation and delivery of NPF4. We therefore do not consider the preparation of the housing land audit guidance to constitute a strategic decision under the definition in the Fairer Scotland Duty Guidance for Public Bodies, and therefore an assessment is not required.

I confirm that the decision to not carry out a Fairer Scotland assessment has been authorised by:

Name and job title of Deputy Director (or equivalent): Dr Fiona Simpson

Date authorisation given: 4 December 2024