Chamber and committees

The Rural Support Plan was laid today and will be published tomorrow.

Public bodies, as both employers and service providers, are responsible for ensuring that they comply with all relevant legal obligations. Following the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in FWS v Scottish Ministers, this duty specifically includes compliance with the Equality Act 2010. It is for each organisation to ensure that its policies and practices are legally compliant, and for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the regulator of the Act, to oversee and enforce compliance.

The EHRC’s revised Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations is currently with the UK Government for approval before it is laid in the UK Parliament for scrutiny. The Scottish Government responded to the EHRC’s public consultation on 25 July 2025 and continues to engage with the UK Government as the draft code progresses. We have been clear that, as the regulator of the Equality Act 2010, the EHRC has an important role in providing clarity for public bodies in this complex area of law, and that the Code will provide an opportunity for this clarity.

Public bodies, as both employers and service providers, are responsible for ensuring that they comply with all relevant legal obligations. Following the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in FWS v Scottish Ministers, this duty specifically includes compliance with the Equality Act 2010. It is for each organisation to ensure that its policies and practices are legally compliant, and for the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the regulator of the Act, to oversee and enforce compliance.

The Scottish Government - as both an organisation and an employer - must also ensure full compliance with the Supreme Court judgment. The Supreme Court Working Group continues to coordinate and drive the programme of work required as a consequence of the judgment, including the updating of relevant legislation, guidance, and internal policies. Actions delivered by the group are published on the Scottish Government website - UK Supreme Court Judgment (For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers): working group - gov.scot

The Supreme Court Working Group is part of the Scottish Government’s core business, and its work does not create additional costs for the public. Meetings are held in a hybrid format, allowing members to join either online or in person as part of their normal duties.

When members attend in person, meetings take place in existing Scottish Government buildings, so no venue costs are incurred. No catering is provided, and members cannot claim expenses for travel to their usual place of work. This means that members do not incur, and cannot claim, any extra costs for attending these meetings.

Health Boards might arrange treatment for some patients outwith NHS Scotland in exceptional circumstances. In all cases, the originating Health Board retains responsibility for funding consultation, diagnosis and treatment for their patients and we expect Scottish NHS Boards to have appropriate processes in place to enable this access.

The consultation closed on 27 October last year. Analysis of the responses has now been completed and a summary of the responses has been published on the Scottish Government Website

Respondents to the consultation provided a wide variety of views in relation to options to amend the existing permitted development rights (PDR) for the conversion of agricultural and forestry buildings to residential use.

There was limited support for, and significant opposition to, the introduction of PDR for new-build homes in rural areas.

The vast majority of respondents opposed the idea of introducing PDR for ‘town centre living’, although some respondents supported the option.

After carefully considering all of the responses received, we have decided not to make changes to the permitted development rights at this time.

Section 81 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 requires the Scottish Ministers to conduct a rural and island communities impact assessment of the provisions of the Act no later than 6 November 2026.

A report of the findings will be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published with a statement of the action, if any, the Scottish Ministers intend to take as a result of the impact assessment by that date.

While the Scottish Government has not made a formal assessment, it is our expectation that community participation and transparency will not be reduced as a result of the removal of the automatic requirement for a Public Local Inquiry when a planning authority objects to an application under sections 36 or 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

When a relevant planning authority objects to a section 36 or 37 application, the Scottish Ministers will appoint a reporter who can select the most appropriate examination procedure (written submissions, hearings, site inspections, or full inquiries) based on the specific circumstances of each case.

This follows the approach already in place under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 and which is provided for in the Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Scotland) Regulations 2013. By matching the examination method to the complexity of objections, legitimate concerns of communities will be fully evaluated in the most appropriate format, while helping to significantly reduce the end-to-end timelines of applications for energy consent.

Changes to the automatic Public Local Inquiry trigger for energy consent applications were consulted on by the UK Government in October and November 2024 as part of preparations for the then Planning and Infrastructure Bill. Details of the consultation outcome can be viewed at: Electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland - GOV.UK.

This included engagement with planning authorities and opportunities for input from local communities through formal public consultation processes.

The Scottish Government intends to consult later this year on additional measures enabled by the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 which are intended to further improve the efficiency of application processing.

It is essential that communities are able to have their say on energy applications that affect them. For this reason, the Scottish Government worked with the UK Government on the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 to reform the energy consenting process in Scotland in ways that would strengthen communities’ opportunities for participation in the decision-making process.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43822 on 26 February 2026, the new reporter-led procedure following an objection from the relevant Planning Authority ensures that legitimate concerns will be fully evaluated in the most appropriate format.

The Act further granted the Scottish Ministers new powers to make pre-application consultation with communities mandatory and refuse applications if engagement has been inadequate.

The Scottish Government is developing our plans for these new regulation-making powers and, given the importance of stakeholder voices on this issue, we will consult on them later this year.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.