Meeting of the Parliament 11 January 2023
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to the debate, in my capacity as convener of the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, by underscoring a few points that the committee has made.
Today, the Parliament is invited to approve NPF4, but that should not be seen as the end of the process of parliamentary scrutiny. The critical part of NPF4 will be how it works in practice. Throughout the session, as a committee, we will continue to hold the Scottish Government to account on the effectiveness of NPF4.
Although we are yet to see the impact of NPF4, the committee welcomes the improved clarity and consistency in the document—in particular, its focus on the climate and biodiversity emergencies. It is clear to the committee that the Scottish Government has listened to the comments of the Parliament’s committees and stakeholders, and the minister and his officials should be hugely commended for their efforts.
Although this draft reflects a significant improvement on the previous draft, stakeholders have highlighted to us ways in which it could be further improved. Although the minister has been clear that this will be the final draft, we welcome his commitment to consider changes and updates following implementation. The test will now be in how NPF4 is implemented and whether it delivers its ambitions.
The committee welcomed the delivery programme that accompanied the draft. However, we had very limited time to consider it and, therefore, we welcome the opportunity to revisit the programme in six months’ time. We will also be closely scrutinising its effect throughout the parliamentary session.
Most critical, if the ambitions of NPF4 are to be fully realised, we need properly resourced and staffed planning departments. The absence of a sufficient number of planners is clearly the greatest obstacle to the delivery of NPF4. However, it is not just a case of having more planners; it is about having planners with the necessary skills—such as expertise in climate and biodiversity planning—to deliver on NPF4. I was therefore heartened to hear the actions that the minister is taking to ensure that there are sufficient planners in place and with the right skills to deliver on the ambitions. We will be closely monitoring that.
NPF4, as conceived, should have a transformational impact on Scotland. For that to happen, it should impact all aspects of life. If that is to be achieved, the Scottish Government needs to adopt a cross-cutting approach. The committee notes that, in Ireland, cabinet ministers must set out how their departments intend to deliver policies that are set out in their equivalent framework, and we would welcome a similar commitment from the Scottish Government.
The success of NPF4 is also reliant on how it is translated into local development plans by planning authorities. The guidance and regulations on local development plans must be brought forward as a matter of urgency. I would welcome an update from the minister on when we should expect to see guidance and regulations.
As I said previously, this is not the end of the process of parliamentary scrutiny of NPF4. We welcome the minister’s commitment to lay an annual report before Parliament, and we will scrutinise that report. We are also keen to hear from all stakeholders on their experience of NPF4 and the extent to which it is achieving its intended outcomes. In particular, we will be keen to hear from local communities about how they are able to shape the places in which they live through local place plans.
This is a much improved document and one that provides a sound foundation for shaping Scotland for the next 10 years. However, we have a long journey ahead to ensure that it makes the transformational change that it seeks to achieve, and the committee will closely monitor the effectiveness of NPF4 in making that change.
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