Engaging communities in decisions relating to land - guidance: review

Improving the Effectiveness of the Guidance

55. The Guidance will only be effective if it is used, and used properly. A crucial first step is ensuring awareness of the Guidance, among land owners, those who make decisions about land, and communities. There is some awareness of the Guidance amongst landowners and those who make decisions about land, but this could be improved, along with raising awareness within the wider population.

56. There are numerous documents relating to community engagement available, so promotion of the Guidance alone is not the only route to improving community engagement. Focusing on raising awareness of the Guidance in the context of its relationship to other documents such as the Protocol would help avoid detracting attention from other relevant documents and help clarify when it is most appropriate to use or refer to the Guidance rather than other documents.

57. The Guidance also encourages sectors to develop their own guidance and while some sectors have done so, there are still a significant number who have not. Developing sector-specific guidance where it does not yet exist would raise awareness of the Guidance and help support effective community engagement in that area going forwards.

58. In addition to raising awareness of the Guidance, its use could be further encouraged through embedding the Guidance within policy frameworks. This could support the normalisation of engagement with communities and lead to increasing engagement.

59. Highlighting the Guidance's connections to the LRRS, human rights and the Scottish national outcomes, as set out in the National Performance Framework, would support a better understanding of the role of community engagement across the wider policy landscape. Making these connections clearer could highlight the benefits, in particular the longer-term ones, of effective community engagement in decision-making. It would also help further embed the Guidance in practice and normalise the use of community engagement.

60. While overall involvement in community engagement is generally low, there is significant variation in the levels of involvement across: rural and urban areas; those who support or oppose policies; educational attainment levels; and socioeconomic circumstances.^[23] As the Guidance is designed to be applicable to all sectors, specific targeting to address these disparities in involvement would not be appropriate. Consideration could be given to drawing attention to these disparities and encouraging landowners and those making decisions about land to take them into account and support those less likely to get involved to participate in engagement.

61. The Guidance is not intended to replace or duplicate statutory requirements for engagement where these exist, such as in formal planning processes. A significant number of landowners and those who make decisions about land consider statutory engagement to be sufficient. There is, however, evidence that there are notable benefits of early engagement with communities for landowners, communities and developers.^[24] The Guidance could potentially place more emphasis on engagement beyond statutory requirements to encourage landowners and those who make decisions about land to consider the importance and benefits of additional engagement.

62. The Guidance focuses on engagement when decisions are being considered, but it could also provide support for early proactive engagement. Proactive engagement is where those who make decisions about land engage with communities on community development plans and processes before they begin to make plans for significant development. This can benefit both communities and decision makers by helping them to understand each other's priorities and aspirations, and any limitations. This type of early engagement encourages positive collaboration between the parties in advance of decisions being taken and helps support constructive engagement, and hence the aims of the Guidance.

63. Greater transparency in decision-making following engagement can help address the issue highlighted above where communities do not feel their views are taken into account. To encourage this, the Guidance could place more emphasis on the importance of giving feedback to communities following engagement and communicating effectively the reasons behind any decisions taken.

64. The Guidance could also encourage greater transparency in the overall engagement process by highlighting the need to make information about who the landowners are, how to contact them, and how to engage in relevant decision-making processes accessible to the public. This would support effective engagement by helping to remove a barrier to communities engaging in decision-making.

65. The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land will make information about those who have a controlling interest in land more accessible. The Register will become operational on 1 April 2022, with criminal sanctions for non-compliance taking effect a year later on 1 April 2023. The Register will not include information about landowners who do not have controlling interests, but this information is available on either the Land Register or the Register of Sasines, held by Registers of Scotland. It remains important to encourage landowners and those making decisions about land to ensure contact information and details of how to engage are accessible to the public via these Registers, supporting the principles of the LRRS.

66. The Guidance focuses on engaging with communities on significant decisions relating to land that would affect the community and provides guidance on what constitutes a significant decision. As part of this, it could also highlight the importance of engaging with communities when selling or considering selling land, where the use of that land impacts the community. This would help the Guidance further support the principles of the LRRS. Community engagement when selling or considering selling land could help encourage a more diverse pattern of ownership and tenure in Scotland, one of the principles of the LRRS, by giving communities the opportunity to become involved in the process.

67. Further consideration and development of ideas to improve the effectiveness of guidance to encourage engagement will be conducted as part of the Scottish Government's review of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement, due to be laid in Parliament by September 2022.