Current status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 9 July 2024
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the national housing emergency, whether it plans to review the planning and consenting system, in order to increase the scale and pace of development across all tenures.
The planning system in Scotland has undergone significant reform in recent years with the introduction of new legislation, policy and guidance. The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 made changes to development planning and consenting regimes to strengthen decision making and enable the delivery of high-quality development. National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was published in February 2023, following extensive public and Parliamentary consultation and scrutiny. NPF4 Policy 16, Quality Homes, takes an all tenure approach to supporting more quality homes, emphasising delivery and the plan-led approach.
The Scottish Government’s Chief Planner and I published a letter to stakeholders on 27 June 2024, providing further clarification on implementation of NPF4 and policy 16 Quality Homes, and emphasising the need for positive and constructive collaboration across sectors to support delivery.
Following our recent public consultation on Investing in Planning, we are working with partners to progress a range of actions to increase the capacity and improve the performance of planning services. Key actions will be set out in due course.