Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 - part 3 participation requests: findings report review

3. Participation Request Activity

3.1 Introduction

This section provides information about the levels of participation request activity since the legislation came into force on 1 April 2017. Section 31 of the Act requires that Public Service Authorities publish an annual report by 30 June each year, setting out numbers of participation requests received, granted, refused and those that resulted in changes to a public service.

Although there is no statutory duty on Public Service Authorities to actively share the annual information or promote where the data is held, since the 2019-2020 reporting period the Scottish Government issued an annual reporting template to the 77 Public Service Authorities to encourage reporting compliance and to help inform national and local activity. The data below has been gathered from these annual reports where they have been completed and returned, as well as from Public Service Authority websites annually, where this data has been made available (please note that not all Public Service Authorities websites include this data).

3.2 Data Activity

Based on the available data outlined in Table One, 104 participation request applications were made between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2024. Of these, 96 were received by Local Authorities, seven by NHS Health Boards, and one by Police Scotland. The 96 requests received by Local Authorities were received by 18 Local Authorities, with the other 14 never receiving a request. Three NHS Health Boards received a total of seven applications. Therefore, based on the information available for this report, 55 out of the total 77 Public Service Authorities listed in Annex A have never received a participation request.

As outlined in Table Two, from the 104 participation requests received overall, 56 were granted, 27 were refused as outlined in Table Three and of the remaining 21, no further details were provided except that a request had been made. Examples reported by Public Service Authorities of why participation requests were refused include existing mechanisms already in place to address the issue raised, such as participation requests that were made for local planning matters. Some participation requests were also refused as they were made outwith the geographical area of the Community Council that submitted it, or refused as it was made by an individual and not a Community Participation Body.

The number of participation requests applications decreased from a high of 26 in 2018-2019 to a low of five in 2023-2024. In the first year of implementation (2017-2018), 12 participation requests were made and this figure more than doubled in the following year, to 26 in 2018-2019 followed by 22 in 2019-2020. There is no clear evidence available to explain why this happened, although it is possible that communities had become increasingly aware of the new legislation and started making use of its provisions. The number of participation requests reduced significantly in 2020-2021 to seven and it is thought that this may be due in part to the Covid pandemic. Numbers returned to pre-Covid levels in 2022-2023 with 23 participation requests, reducing to nine and five the following two years respectively. It is not clear why the numbers have reduced since 2022-2023.

Table One:

Participation Requests Applications Received 2017-2018 to 2023-2024.

Table Two:

Participation Requests Applications Granted 2017-2018 to 2023-2024.

Table Three:

Participation Requests Applications Refused 2017-2018 to 2023-2024.

Table Four below provides a breakdown of the participation requests made between 2017-2018 and 2023-2024 by theme and Community Participation Body type. These themes were devised by the Scottish Government, based on the information available. As the table shows, 38 participation requests were made by Community Councils and were mainly made to Local Authorities, the most common Community Participation Body type. Development Trusts^[2] submitted nine and other community organisations such as local residents associations and groups concerned with the future of local amenities submitted 24. Of the 33 requests not known, no further details were provided except that a request had been made. From the information provided to the Scottish Government, the key themes were transport (16), Improved Access (14), Service Delivery (10) and Planning (8).

Table Four:

Participation Requests Submitted by Theme and Community Participation Body type 2017-2018 to 2023-2024.

*local residents associations and groups concerned with the future of local amenities

Other themes includes a request to work with the local authority on general unspecified issues; an unclear request regarding the future of a local community asset; a general request to become involved in a local community engagement group; a request to become involved in the management and disposal of common good funds; and two separate requests to be involved in increased use of a local golf course.