Open Space Strategies and Play Sufficiency Assessments Regulations: impact assessments

Appendix C: Fairer Scotland Duty

Assessment Not Required Declaration

Policy title:

Proposals for secondary legislation on Open Space Strategies and Play Sufficiency Assessments

Directorate: Division: team

Directorate for Local Government and Communities

Planning and Architecture Division

Policy lead responsible for taking the decision

Kristen Anderson (Open Space Strategies)

Kuan Loh (Play Sufficiency Assessments)

Rationale for decision

The Fairer Scotland Duty applies to 'decisions of a strategic nature' – these are the key, high-level choices or plans that the public sector makes.

We have considered the Fairer Scotland Duty Interim Guidance, and its advice on defining 'strategic level'. In general, these strategic decisions will be decisions that affect how the public body fulfils its intended purpose, over a significant period of time. It sets out the duty normally applied to new strategies, action plans, strategic delivery decisions about setting priorities and/or allocating resources, major new policy proposals, and preparing new legislation. This work relates to the preparation of the secondary legislation, on detailed procedural arrangements, to support the substantive matters that are already set in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019.

The guidance lists a range of areas of strategic decisions, including preparation of Local Development Plans(LDP). Open Space Strategies and Play Sufficiency Assessments will feed into the preparation of LDPs, thus are effectively lower tier documents that support local development plans. The subsequent preparation of local development plans are subject to Fairer Scotland Duty. We therefore do not consider the preparation of the secondary regulation themselves would constitute a strategic decision under the definition in the Fairer Scotland Duty Interim Guidance. I confirm that the secondary legislation on open space strategies and play sufficiency assessments does not constitute a strategic decision 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, Chief Planner

Date authorisation given:

8 December 2021