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Follow up session on Priorities for Session 6 - 9 September 2021

Letter from Convener to Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Finance - 9 September 2021

Dear Kate

Thank you for giving evidence to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on 31 August 2021. The Committee welcomed the opportunity to hear from you on your initial priorities and found the session immensely helpful. There were a number of questions the Committee did not have time to ask you in the course of the session and the Committee agreed to follow these up with you in writing. Specifically, it has agreed to seek your views on:

20 minute neighbourhoods
The Committee is interested in the development of the 20 minute neighbourhood and requests details of how the Scottish Government intends to support local authorities, as well as other public and private sector organisations, to deliver this. The Committee is also interested in how this policy will be adapted for life in rural and island areas.

Local Place Plans
Following the introduction of the requirement to create Local Place Plans, the Committee seeks details of the scope of these plans and how the Scottish Government envisages these will allow communities to influence development in their area. The Committee is particularly interested in community role and engagement given the requirements to take account of national and local planning policies and the reliance on local authorities incorporating the Local Place Plans proposals into developments.

The Committee also seeks details of how the Scottish Government will support communities, particularly deprived communities to produce Local Place Plans.

National Planning Framework 4
The Committee is interested in the development of the 4th National Planning Framework and seeks detail of the criteria used to identify national developments and in particular the engagement with local communities as part of that process.

Planning policies
The Committee seeks detail on how various policies such as the 20 minute neighbourhoods, Regional Land Use Partnerships and Local Place Plans will interact and complement one another.

I look forward to hearing from you and request a response by 29 September 2021.

Yours sincerely
Ariane Burgess
Convener, Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee