Community right to buy review: consultation

Annex B: 6. Suggestions that we do not consider suitable for consultation

A number of stakeholders have made suggestions that we will not be taking forward as part of this review. The reasons for this are set out below. While these issues will not be taken forward in the consultation, they will each be addressed in the final review report.

6.1 Suggestions not to be taken forward

1. Could Community Body resources be taken into account when submitting an application (i.e. more time allowed, or some form of assistance provided)?

2. Could grants be made available for Community Bodies to enable them to carry out the work for submitting an application?

3. Timelines of events within a community that trigger the discussion of a community right to buy application do not always fit with the timescales of the process (i.e. sudden sale means group has no time to become compliant and then submit an application)

4. Consider how Part 3A interacts with Compulsory Sales Orders.

5. Remove need to see certificate of incorporation in the application

6. Can appeals be held without need for lawyers

7. Upfront ballot costs to be paid by Ministers.

8. Better method for accepting large files that come with applications

9. Ensure timescales are more compatible between the Scottish Land Fund and Community Right to Buy. That may mean an extension of overall community right to buy timescales but needs to be balanced with ECHR rights of the landowner.

10. Treat successful Community Body applications as a resource and compensate them for their time and expertise when provided to other potential applicants

11. Increase awareness of place planning principles

12. Provide training for advisors and Local Authority officers who deal with the sale or transfer of assets.

13. Add other types of bodies to Community Asset Transfer process (e.g. Church of Scotland)

14. Remove ability to apply if an owner is unknown.

15. Allow a simplified application in the event of an unknown owner (along the lines of the King’s and Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer scheme?)

16. To not allow late applications

17. If a petition has already shown community support, there should be no need for a ballot as well.

18. Allow Community Body access to full electoral register electronically

19. Only require a ballot after approval of an application, not as part of the application itself (Part 3A and Part 5).

20. Remove need for a ballot and replace with a further petition with higher approve rate required.

21. Remove requirement for new petition at re-registration stage

22. Use other source of information for an application (e.g. business plan for a Scottish Land Fund application) to avoid repetition by groups.

23. Remove requirement for a business plan

24. Allow Scottish Government officials to access full electoral register electronically to assist with checking validity of ballots and petitions

25. Do away with salmon fishing and mineral right sections

26. Either promote the option to have a mediator more or remove it.

27. Include an offer to the owner under Part 2 (in the same way as 3A and 5), as a starting point in the process.

28. Introduce a preliminary “pre-registration” phase to make the rights more accessible to groups.

29. Allow communities of interest to apply

30. Remove need for a petition at registration stage

31. Lower percentage of petition for urban areas

32. Could the time between offer and application be amended depending on whether the owner wishes to discuss with the group. If they don’t, keep it shorter.

33. Remove option allowing owner to remedy a site after a Part 3A or Part 5 application is received and before a decision is made.

34. If including a simplified pre-registration stage, this should last 5 years, but full registration should be extended to 20 years

35. Don’t allow late registration if within x weeks/days of disposal

36. If an application is timeous, any compensation is payable by ministers, but if it’s a late application, it’s payable by the Community Body.

6.2 Summary of reasons for not taking forward

6.2.1 Government Neutrality and Impartiality

In some cases, the Scottish Government must take care to remain neutral in application decisions (e.g. points 2 and 7).

6.2.2 Scope and Limitations of the Review

Informal engagement to date has led us to focus on what we consider to be the most important issues in need of addressing or that would require a broader process that goes outside of community right to buy, thus taking resources away from the core purpose of the review. (e.g. points 6, 10-13 and 18)

6.2.3 Practicality and Feasibility

Several of the above points raise concerns about practical implementation, resource constraints, or administrative burden, including unintended impacts on community groups (e.g. points 1, 28, 34 and 36).