Scottish Government

Covering Letter 2 and Respondent Information Form

Dear Consultee

PLANNING ADVICE NOTE ( PAN): COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT "PLANNING WITH PEOPLE" CONSULTATION DRAFT

Comments are invited on the attached draft Planning Advice Note ( PAN) on Community Engagement, which has been produced with the support of a steering group made up of representatives from local authorities, the Royal Town Planning Institute, local community groups and developers. This is the first time that the Scottish Executive has issued advice to local authorities and developers on how communities should be properly engaged by them in the planning process.

SUMMARY

Scotland's planning system is undergoing its most radical overhaul in 60 years. Scottish Ministers are determined to make the planning system more inclusive and accessible to people, with greater openness and accountability in the decision-making process. We cannot achieve that without reforming how planning involves people - but more importantly how people are involved in planning.

Many people believe the present system is too complex and too bureaucratic. Some feel they do not have any real say in the process and dismiss consultation as a charade. Others are intimidated by the procedures, or simply do not see the relevance of getting involved in planning in the first place.

We need to change this. We now have a golden opportunity to create a planning system which Scotland can be proud of; modern, efficient and, above all, with communities at its heart.

Once finalised, the new PAN will show how everyone can take part in shaping the future of their area, and what communities can expect from the new planning process. It will also provide examples of good practice and advice to planning authorities and developers on how best to listen, engage and understand what people want for their area.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SAY

A 13 week consultation is now being undertaken on the draft PAN. To ensure that the advice on community engagement in planning meets your needs the Scottish Executive would like to know what you think. Please send your views by 13th October 2006 to the address, or
e-mail, noted below.

Responses to:
planningwithpeople@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
or
Sandra Carey

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form enclosed as this will ensure that we treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential and will treat it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Executive is subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider any request made to it under the Act for information relating to responses made to this consultation exercise.

What Happens Next?

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public (see the attached Respondent Information Form), these will be made available to the public in the Scottish Executive Library within 20 working days of the closing date and on the Scottish Executive consultation web pages shortly after. We will check all responses where agreement to publish has been given for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library or otherwise publishing them. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the SE library on 0131 244 4565. Responses can be copied and sent to you, but a charge may be made for this service.

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to inform the final drafting of the Planning Advice Note on Community Engagement. We aim to issue a report on this consultation exercise and a final version of the PAN by the end of the year.

Comments and complaints

If you have any concerns about how this consultation exercise has been conducted please send them to me at the above address.

Further Information

Requests for additional copies of the draft PAN, or material in large print, or in other formats or community languages should be directed to Sandra Carey on 0131 244 7540.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours faithfully

JANE MACRORY
Senior Planner

THE SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE CONSULTATION PROCESS

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Executive working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Executive, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general Scottish Executive consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Executive encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically, Scottish Executive consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the area of consultation, and they are also placed on the Scottish Executive web site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses. ^[1] Consultation exercises may involve seeking views in a number of ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the responses received to consultation exercises (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Executive library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4552).

All Scottish Executive consultation papers and related publications ( e.g., analysis of response reports) can be accessed at: Scottish Executive consultations. ^[1] The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review;
• inform the development of a particular policy;
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals;
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented.

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

The Scottish Executive also has an email alert system for SE consultations ( SEconsult). This system allows stakeholders, individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly email containing details of all new SE consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements, but in no way replaces, SE distribution lists. It is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultation activity and therefore be alerted at the earliest opportunity to those of most interest. We encourage you to register.

^[1]www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations

RESPONDEE INFORMATION FORM: Draft Planning Advice Note ( PAN) - Community Engagement: "Planning with People".