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I echo that point. We have the forthcoming publication of the national strategy for economic transformation, and that will be published ahead of the finalised version of NPF4 coming before Parliament. Clearly, what emerges from that work will be reflected within the finalised NPF4. I would also say that the heart of NPF4 in terms of response to climate change, the climate emergency and the nature crisis is a move towards the creation of a genuine wellbeing economy. That is why community wealth is embedded at the heart of our six overarching principles that relate to sustainability. Creating a prosperous economy that works for everybody is at the heart of this document and it is a spatial expression of all of the Government’s policies, including the Government’s economic policy, and will reflect NSET once it has been published.

I am conscious of time, so I will be brief. We will take into account all responses that we have received through public consultation and that parliamentary committees have received, in writing and orally. We will reflect on those and we will seek to make judgments and seek to incorporate where we think that there are points that we can improve. We will feed that back through our consultation response and into the final NPF4. Our aspiration is to be able to lay the finalised NPF4 before Parliament prior to summer recess for adoption. This work is taking place at the same time as the consultation on the LDP regulations.

I want to be clear to the committee and give a commitment that we very much value all of the engagement. There is still a substantial amount of engagement to take place—I am conscious that your consideration will be on-going. I am heartened to see the amount of community engagement that has started to take place. That is something that, in my ministerial capacity, I am looking forward to engaging in. At this point, we are very much in listening mode and welcome this opportunity to articulate what our thinking has been in preparing the draft NPF4.

We are extremely grateful for all of the contributions that people have made to get to this process and are making now to share their views. I give the undertaking that we will take all of that into account and be clear and transparent about how we arrive at the final decisions that we put before Parliament in relation to NPF4. It is, of course, a matter for Parliament to decide whether or not to approve NPF4, so that it can be formally adopted by ministers.

Fiona Simpson might want to add some more on the process.

Fiona Simpson might want to give a bit of context on how NPF4 relates to some of the other work that is going on in Government around housing, for example.

Dr Allan’s question is important and it speaks to why there is flexibility in NPF4. I am conscious that some of the feedback in other committee sessions has perhaps been that certain stakeholders are looking for a more prescriptive approach, but a balance is required. We need to avoid being overly prescriptive while having flexibility so that planning authorities can take local circumstances fully into account in designing their local development plans.

If the cabinet secretary is happy, I will kick off on that. I anticipate that the southern sustainability action plan in the spatial strategy will be of particular interest to you, Ms Hamilton. It speaks about a network of towns, recognising the unique character of the south of Scotland, and there is recognition that transport is a key issue.

I suppose that there are two aspects. The first is that we want to reduce the need for travel. That is about building up wealth within communities, and job opportunities. You will note that one of the universal policies—from memory, it is policy 5, on sustainable places—is about community wealth building. I know that South of Scotland Enterprise is very interested in that. By promoting greater community wealth building through the planning system and using other levers as well, we can help to reduce the need for unsustainable travel.

However, we also recognise that, in many cases, travel is unavoidable. That is reflected in the spatial strategy for the south of Scotland. Equally and analogously, the action plan for the north of Scotland, which is known as northern revitalisation, recognises the key role that our roads play and also the necessity for car use, which I mentioned to the convener. Part of how we respond to that will be about increasing EV infrastructure to support low-carbon travel, but we also have to see this in the broader context of our wanting to reduce car kilometres by 20 per cent and reduce unsustainable travel. Paragraph 5 of the spatial strategy reflects the fact that, for sustainability, addressing the issues around public transport and indeed cross-border transport will be significant.

I do not know whether Fiona Simpson wants to expand on any of those points.

I am sorry, but I missed the tail end of that question.

I appreciate the question, Dr Allan. That aim is not explicitly set out in the national planning framework, but one of the indirect consequences of supporting and increasing rural populations would be the direct benefit to Gaelic-speaking communities. However, I am conscious that Bòrd na Gàidhlig has highlighted some useful ideas, which we will consider and reflect on ahead of bringing a finalised NPF4 back to Parliament later this year.

Yes. I would add that policy 5 is a universal policy and that all development has to be considered through that community wealth-building lens. That agenda will grow and intensify throughout this parliamentary session as we work towards introducing legislation on community wealth building.

Some of the universal policies will have varying degrees of relevance and applicability. Aquaculture is one area where there will be significant interest. Although we are specifically discussing the role of the planning system in NPF4, these conversations could be expanded into the community wealth-building space, and I look forward to having them in due course.

That is a really important question. The draft NPF4 is a high-level document and subsidiarity applies, so there will be local development plans that can give effect to that in particular localities. There are also the local place plans that we have introduced, which allow individual neighbourhoods and communities within planning authorities’ areas to shape their local development plans.

With regard to what is stated about 20-minute neighbourhoods, I note that flexibility is built in, which is reflected in how the policy is defined, but also in the spatial strategy. The action areas, which include north and west coastal innovation and northern revitalisation, recognise that the concept of 20-minute neighbourhoods has a different application in areas with dispersed populations compared with places with dense populations.

For example, we will look to encourage 20-minute neighbourhoods in built-up urban areas by seeking to repopulate our town centres, and some measures are included on that. However, in local areas, that will require more nuance. That could involve establishing hubs and promoting active travel networks, but also recognising the need for cars. That can be supported through, for example, electric vehicle charging infrastructure. There is recognition that 20-minute neighbourhoods will have to be applied in a different manner in, say, South Uist, compared with how they will be applied in Shawlands in Glasgow.

Fiona Simpson might want to expand on the points that I have made and provide some more clarity.

We already have a suite of guidance and processes in place in the planning system. Of course, we will reflect on and refresh that as required. On the specific technical point, I ask Fiona Simpson to come in.