Democracy Matters: route map to reform

Next steps for delivery and implementation

The proposals outlined will take time to consider and implement. To put the proposed approach into practice we will take a phased approach, working with communities and public bodies in local areas at differing starting points in their empowerment journey and with differing levels of capacity to explore the impact of these proposals. This will help us understand what changes in policy, legislation, funding and accountability arrangements might be needed for successful delivery.

We will seek to design a phased empowerment pathway, building on what is already in place, what works well across local areas, and consider the potential for stronger standards and requirements on public bodies to ensure that people have greater influence and say over local decisions to improve provision of services at place level. Our approach will be to learn from examples of effective delivery. We will work in partnership to test and progress proposals as quickly as possible. Alongside this we will bring forward more detailed options for how to implement reforms that could be most impactful. Building on learning from the Investing in Communities Fund, we will work to explore future funding options for communities to support effective delivery of the Route Map.

Below is an outline of the approach we will take to ensure that the changes we bring empowers communities across Scotland over time.

Phase 1

• Initially we will work in a number of local areas where community infrastructure is already developed to explore how we can support stronger community governance arrangements, accelerate the impact of community led planning and decision-making and how best to implement the changes proposed in this blueprint.
• We will seek to introduce any necessary changes in policy and legislation, including proposals for new legislation to give communities the further rights, powers and support. Including to enable communities to take on greater powers over local decision-making and budgets, where there is clear community support for this approach and understanding that this would best deliver improved outcomes in the local area.
• We will focus on how to support local areas and communities more effectively including to nurture and support community development and participation, and promote better relationships with the public sector. We will explore opportunities to streamline and integrate capacity funding at national level and improve local approaches to resourcing community led delivery at place level.
• We will scope the implementation of an approach that ensures good stewardship and protection of public funds.

Phase 2

• We will look to support and incentivise participation in the development of community action plans across the country and ensure that as many people as possible are able to get involved in developing priorities for their local area.

Rather than institute a new plan, communities will be able to use pre-existing planning documents such as (but not limited to) local place plans, community action plans, or climate resilience plans to unlock additional rights and powers outlined providing they meet collective standards of participation. The scheduled statutory review of local place plans in the second half of 2026 will also inform this work.

• We will work cross sector to develop or enhance standards to ensure that plans that unlock new rights and powers are participatory, co-designed and tackling inequality. We will also explore bringing in clearer requirements on community governance bodies as a pre-requisite for enhanced powers and functions in community plans.
• We will continue to provide support for communities and focus on making sure available resources for community capacity and delivery are strategically aligned to help deliver the ambitions in the blueprint, and targeted to where there is greatest need and greatest potential benefit to communities.

Phase 3

• We will agree a point at which to review whether more fundamental change or reform is needed to introduce more standardised models and approaches including to community level governance structures.
• We will also need to support more communities to understand and claim their rights as capacity increases and embed new ways of working and models of support more routinely within local governance arrangements. This will include work to increase support for community development and participation in areas that have less developed infrastructure.

This approach will inform and be supported by the development of workstreams which help to deliver and implement the reforms. These will initially consider four priority areas:

1. New devolved powers and rights in legislation – ensuring a coherent legal framework for local empowerment

2. Strengthened Governance – designing representative and participatory community governance structures

3. Funding Reform – developing sustainable cross sector funding models

4. Community Capacity – increasing investment in community support and development infrastructure

A summary of what these workstreams will progress is annexed on page 11. Work has started to establish these, and a more detailed programme and delivery plan will be produced. This will be taken forward with community-based organisations and the wider public sector.

It will include a focus on work with equalities organisations to ensure that the changes we bring in further progress our commitment to human rights, including the inclusion of children and young people.

Through these reforms, we are actively reducing the practical and societal barriers to participation in local decision-making and addressing inequalities in representation

It will also include a focus on work looking at options for maximising and making best use of available public sector resources across the system to support the delivery of these reforms and to ensure their effective implementation in practice.