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Survey of planning websites in Scotland

SECTION 1 METHOD

1.1 Defining 'Planning Websites'

1.1.1 For the purpose of this study, the term 'planning websites' is defined as the provision of general and area-specific planning information and services by an authority via their local government website. The scope of the survey criteria includes the development control process, development plans and policy at district and structure plan level but does not include the enforcement process.

1.2 The Area Surveyed

1.2.1 The planning websites of 34 Scottish local and National Park authorities (National Parks are marked with an N.P) and 2 structure plan teams have been surveyed:

Local Authorities

Aberdeen City
Aberdeenshire
Angus
Argyll & Bute
Cairngorms N.P (limited powers)
City of Edinburgh
City of Glasgow
Clackmannanshire
Dumfries & Galloway
Dundee City
East Ayrshire
East Dunbartonshire
East Lothian
East Renfrewshire
Falkirk
Fife
Highland
Inverclyde
Loch Lomond & Trossachs N.P
Midlothian
Moray
North Ayrshire
North Lanarkshire
Orkney
Perth & Kinross
Renfrewshire
Scottish Borders
Shetland
South Ayrshire
South Lanarkshire
Stirling
West Dunbartonshire
West Lothian
Western Isles (Eilean Siar)

Structure Plan Websites:

Ayrshire Joint Structure Plan & Transportation Committee
Glasgow & Clyde Valley Structure Plan Joint Committee.

1.3 The Criteria

1.3.1 The Pendleton Criteria were originally applied to local authorities in England and Wales as part of the PPA National Planning Website Review 2003. The criteria were designed to measure the availability of online planning information and services on local authority websites. The criteria were subsequently adopted by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as one of the tools to assist in the measurement of local authority progress in the delivery of e-planning and e-governance in England and Wales. For this survey the original 21 Pendleton Criteria have been applied to Scottish planning authority websites and a pilot version of the criteria have been applied to two dedicated Structure Plan websites. The criteria have been modified to reflect the roles and responsibilities of the Scottish planning bodies and the Scottish planning & appeal process.

1.3.2 A point is awarded for each criterion that is met by a local planning authority or planning body. Additional information - for example, the period of time covered by application and decision registers - was recorded for interest purposes but points were not awarded for this information.

1.4 The Assessment, Presentation and Ranking of Planning Websites:

1.4.1 The assessment was aimed at the needs of both regular and one-off users of Council planning services. The criteria were designed to reflect the services most frequently utilised from downloading advice, guidance and forms, to submitting applications and looking up local plan policy. A qualitative assessment has been made based on whether the service homepages were accessible and presented in a comprehensive format, whether the scope of the online information and services available met the users' requirements and would reduce the user's need to make telephone enquires or visit Council offices.

1.4.2 For this survey testing of the on-line services was from the point of view of the web-user. For this study we worked with the following scenarios:

• Citizens wanting to find out about planning applications in their area and comment on an application online
• Agent/Applicant wishing to make and monitor applications
• Citizens/Agent wishing to find out the planning history for a property
• A homeowner investigating if changes to their house would require permission
• Citizens wishing to know more about the planning process
• Citizens checking if they want to attend the next committee meeting
• Citizens/Agents checking for any land designations on a specific site

1.4.3 Points were only awarded where the services or level of information required to meet the criterion was available online and functioning at the time of testing and the information provided was up-to-date and considered accessible to the user. For a service to be classified as 'accessible' it must be made clear to the user on the planning web pages which services are available and how to access them.

1.4.4 The survey data is presented in spreadsheet format. The spreadsheet lists each local/ National Park authority and Structure Plan website surveyed, the criteria met by the individual authorities and their overall score. The score given to each local authority is based on the number of criteria met by the local authority, out of a total of 21. The 34 local authorities and National Park authorities have been ranked based on this score. The maximum score available to the Structure Plan websites surveyed was 11 points.

1.5 External Websites

1.5.1 Links to external planning websites that offer functions like planning advice and guidance on behalf of the local authority have been included in the scoring for that authority only where there is a named service direct link from the Council website to the external site. A logo alone is not sufficient; it must be accompanied by a brief explanation of the services available on the external website.

1.6 The Data Collection & Validation Process

1.6.1 Each website was tested on a minimum of two separate occasions by different researchers to ensure the accuracy of the results. The final survey of each website was carried out on the 1st of November 2004; this date was taken as the survey date and the results were correct on this date.

1.6.2 Websites with links or services that did not function/failed to download or were out of date were repeat-tested by a different researcher over the course of the survey period, and for a final time on the 1st of November. Those that remain inoperative on this date were regarded as absent.

1.6.3 Once the websites had been surveyed by PPA researchers, the survey results for each authority were available to view on the Peter Pendleton & Associates website ( www.pendleton-assoc.com). Authorities were invited by the Scottish Executive to validate that the results listed on the website were correct at the time of testing. Local authorities could only validate their own score and were given a period from the 3rd-10th of November to submit a response.

1.6.4 Local authorities that agreed with their scores were asked to confirm this with PPA via a dedicated email address ( planningsurvey@pendleton-assoc.com). Authorities that did not agree with the score listed on the website were asked to highlight the services that they required to be rechecked. The validation period was not designed to enable authorities to update the services available on the web - points could not be awarded for new services that were added to the site during the validation period.

1.6.5 PPA applied a 7 stage data collection and validation process:

Stage 1: Email Notification to Authorities

Authorities were notified via email on 25th October- before the survey began - to inform authorities when the survey was to take place and advising when and how the survey results could be viewed and details of the validation period. A copy of the email is given in Appendix 2. The email distribution list for all authorities was obtained from the Scottish Executive. Emails for Heads of Planning were used as the primary point of email contact, with emails to Chief Executives as an alternative contact. Where emails 'bounced back' as undelivered to local authorities PPA made all reasonable attempts to contact the authority via an alternative email e.g. a general planning/development control email provided on the planning pages of the authority website.

Stage 2: Initial Data Collection - 29 th October 2004

The research team conducted the first-stage survey of all local government planning websites in Scotland on the 29th of October. The aim of the first survey was to collect preliminary data that was subject to reassessment on the 1st of November. Each planning website was assessed by logging onto the individual local authority websites, navigating to the planning and related web pages and assessing the availability and quality of the online information provided against the relevant Pendleton Criteria. Where direct links to the information/services were not available, a search engine / A-Z of services were used check to locate the information/services. Criteria not found on the dedicated service page, via a link, or by A-Z search of the website were regarded as absent and not rewarded a point.

Stage 3: Second Data Collection - 1 st November 2004

The research team conducted the second survey of all planning websites in England and Wales on the 1st November 2004. Each planning website was assessed by logging back into the individual local authority websites, navigating to the planning and related web pages and re-assessing the availability and quality of the online information provided against the relevant Pendleton Criteria. The results were recorded as correct on the 1st November 2004

Stage 4: Comparison between Stage 1 and 2 Data

The Stage 1 and Stage 2 data were compared for accuracy. Any discrepancies between the two sets of data were re-checked by a researcher for a third time to ensure final results are correct. Final data sets were produced listing all council websites.

Stage 5: The Verification Period -3 rd-10th November 2004

The final data spreadsheets were available to view on the PPA website from 3rd of November 2004. Planning authorities were invited to log onto the site, click on the 'Planning Survey Scotland 2004' link on the homepage and view the proposed individual criteria breakdown and score for each authority. A dedicated email address was available to enable local authorities to validate their score directly to PPA. If no response was received within the verification period it was assumed by PPA that the local authority/ National Park / Structure Plan Team were satisfied with their score and the results were automatically verified.

Stage 6: Reminder Emails to Planning Authorities - 5 th November 2004

A follow-up email was sent to local authorities on the 5th November 2004 to remind them that the survey had been completed and to invite authorities to verify the results by the 10th November. The email was sent to the Heads of Planning and Chief Executives at each authority and to the Structure Plan Teams. A copy of the reminder email is given in Appendix 2.

Stage 7: The Finalised Results

The verified results were passed from PPA to the Scottish Executive on 10th November 2004 in Excel Spreadsheet format. This report accompanies these results.

1.7 The Report

1.7.1 Section 2 and 3 of this report summarise the findings from the survey, presented as:

• Key survey findings for Scottish local and National Park authority websites
• An overview of e-planning performance in Scotland presented as a breakdown of the criteria
• Planning website rankings for Scottish local and National Park authorities
• Key Findings for the Structure Plan Teams.

FIGURE 1: The Pendleton Criteria

Local Authorities and National Park Authorities in Scotland have been surveyed against 21 criteria - the original Pendleton Criteria applied during the Planning Website Survey 2003 - modified to reflect the Scottish Planning and Appeal process.

FIGURE 2: THE PENDLETON STRUCTURE PLAN CRITERIA

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