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CONTENTS
Planning Services

Introduction: The Planning System
Who Does What?
Our Standards of Service
Complaints
Other Comments
How to Contact Us
Annex A: The Scottish Office and the Planning System
Annex B: Useful Documents
Annex C: Useful Addresses
INTRODUCTION
The planning system plays an important role in shaping and protecting the quality of our towns, cities and the countryside. It operates to:
  • provide effective development for homes and jobs;
  • meet our desire for mobility;
  • conserve the heritage of our older buildings;
  • protect the environment and ensure that development and growth are sustainable - in other words, that decisions will not harm the environment for future generations;
  • guide development to the right places;
  • prevent development which is not acceptable; and
  • protect the rights of the individual.
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The Government is committed to raising standards of service on planning throughout the public sector, not only within The Scottish Office Development Department. Much progress has already been made in this area. The Scottish Office Inquiry Reporters Unit, whose work includes the handling of local plan inquiries and most planning appeals, has published a Charter which sets out standards of its service. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities has also published a model charter on development control, for local authorities to use as a basis for developing their own charters covering the planning services they provide.
This Charter sets out the targets adopted by The Scottish Office Development Department and the standards of service which you can expect when you contact us about planning matters. Before turning to these, it is helpful to set the Department's role in relation to the planning system into context by briefly describing who does what.top
WHO DOES WHAT?
Local Authorities
Local authorities are largely responsible for the operation of the planning system in their own areas. Their main planning functions can be summarised as follows. Local authorities are responsible for:
  • preparation of a development plan for their areas (comprising a structure plan and local plan);
  • development control - that is deciding planning applications and enforcement of planning rules and conditions.
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(i) Development Plans
The development plan for an area is made up of the structure plan and the local plan. Structure plans set out the strategic policy framework for an area and aim to provide a guide for development over 10-15 years. Structure plans are prepared by local authorities but to be valid they must be approved by the Secretary of State for Scotland. Local plans set out, in more detail, local development guidance which are then used as the basis for development control decisions. Local plans do not require approval by the Secretary of State for Scotland.
(ii) Development Control
Individual planning applications are considered against the development plan and any other material considerations. Applicants must inform certain neighbours of proposals and anyone can lodge objections with the planning authority which must then take these into consideration. The aim is to make the best decision about each application and to ensure that changes to our physical environment are right for their purpose and location.
When things go wrong it is sometimes necessary for the local authority to enforce planning rules. The person responsible for a breach of planning control is informed of what is wrong and what action is needed to correct it.
(iii) Further Information
If you have a query about a particular development plan, planning application or the enforcement of a planning rule, you should contact the appropriate local authority. Addresses of each of the 32 new unitary councils are listed at Annex C.top
The Scottish Office Development Department
As explained above most planning decisions are taken by the local authority. However central government also has an important role to play in developing and maintaining the statutory framework for planning. The Secretary of State for Scotland also gets directly involved in a number of other ways to ensure the system operates effectively and fairly. Some of these are as follows:
  • through provision of policy guidance to local authorities and others about the Scottish planning system (for example National Planning Policy Guidelines (NPPGs), Planning Advice Notes (PANS) and Circulars);
  • through approval of structure plans. Authorities' structure plans must be approved by the Secretary of State for Scotland to be valid;
  • through requiring local authorities to notify him of applications in relation to particular categories of case (for example significant structure plan departures, local authorities' own developments or cases in which the local authority has an interest) so that he can decide whether he wants to call these in for his own decision;
  • the Secretary of State can call in any planning application for his decision rather than the authority's (although this is quite rare and only happens where the planning issues raised are of more than local importance);
  • applicants can appeal to the Secretary of State where they are dissatisfied with their authority's decision or it fails to reach a decision within the set timetable. The Scottish Office Inquiry Reporters Unit (SOIRU) processes the vast majority of appeals and arranges public local inquiries or site inspections for these and other related matters (including local plan inquiries) where a Reporter is required;
  • a very small number of appeals are decided by the Secretary of State himself.
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The roles of The Scottish Office Development Department and SOIRU in relation to the planning system in Scotland are set out in more detail at Annex A.top
OUR STANDARDS OF SERVICE
Information and Openness
You can expect us to provide clear information in plain English on the planning matters we deal with. Annex B lists a range of publications that we can make available free of charge on request. We will also make responses to all public consultations available for inspection in our Library at St Andrew's House (except where responses are provided on a confidential basis).
Courtesy and Helpfulness
Our staff will wear name badges and identify themselves by name on the telephone and in letters. You can expect them to be courteous and helpful.
Service Standards
We aim to answer all telephone calls promptly. If the appropriate member of staff is not available, you will either be passed to another member of staff who can deal with your enquiry or someone will call you back within 2 working days. If your enquiry is complicated or involves a complaint you may be asked to write so that full consideration can be given to the matter. If this is difficult please say so and alternative arrangements can be made.
We aim to respond to letters within 20 working days of receipt. However, if your letter raises complex issues we may not be able to provide a full reply within this timescale. If this is the case, we will write and tell you why there will be a delay and when we expect to be able to reply. We will aim to do this within 10 working days of receipt.top
Consultation
Wherever we can, you can expect us to consult on the development of policy and draft guidance by issuing public consultation documents and by carrying out periodic surveys of those who use our services.
We also aim to meet the following performance targets:
  • we will normally give notice of forthcoming NPPGs and PANs in our Planning Bulletin;
  • we will normally allow 2 months for formal consultation on draft NPPGs and draft circulars providing advice and guidance;
  • we aim to deal with 80% of cases notified to the Secretary of State for his decision on whether to call-in for his own determination within 28 working days and the rest within 2 months;
  • if an application is called-in, a report will be made to the Secretary of State following a public local inquiry or written submissions procedure. We aim to issue a decision within 2 months of receipt of the report in 80% of cases, and within 3 months for the rest;
  • you can normally expect the Secretary of State to reach final decisions on structure plans within a year from the date of submission; and
  • we will publish information on our performance each year.
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cc-compro.gif (2039 bytes) COMPLAINTS
If you have a complaint about the service we provide, you should:
  • Write to the official handling your enquiry or case, or to the Head of Planning Division, The Scottish Office Development Department, Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ. It will help us to investigate your complaint if you set out the facts as fully and clearly as possible. We will investigate your complaint promptly and fully. If this investigation shows we made a mistake, you will receive an apology. We will aim to respond to reply within 20 working days of receipt of your letter. If we cannot, we will write to explain why and indicate when we expect to be able to do so.
  • If you are not satisfied with the response, you may wish to write to the Secretary of The Scottish Office Development Department at Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ.
  • If you feel the Department is unable to satisfy your concerns, you may wish to write to your Member of Parliament and ask for your complaint to be brought to the attention of the Minister for Local Government and Planning at The Scottish Office. You can write to your MP at the address given in your local phone book or, alternatively, at House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.
  • If you consider there may be grounds for maladministration on the part of the Department (for instance, it failed to follow a proper procedure or failed to consider relevant information before taking a decision), you can ask an MP to pass on your concerns to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (also known as the Parliamentary Ombudsman) for possible investigation. The Ombudsman is entirely independent of the Government. However, he can only act when asked to do so by a Member of Parliament.

We will monitor all complaints made and use them to review and improve the services we provide.
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OTHER COMMENTS
We would also be happy to hear from you if you are satisfied with the service we have provided, or wish to highlight some exceptional performance. Also, should you have suggestions about how we can build upon the service we provide, we would welcome these. Write to the Head of Planning Division at the address below.
HOW TO CONTACT US
You can write to us at Planning Division, The Scottish Office Development Department, Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ.
If you wish to speak to somebody on the telephone, call The Scottish Office Helpline on 0345 741741, and ask for the Planning Helpline. Our office is open to telephone calls from 9.00am to 5.00pm. Calls are charged at local rate, wherever in the UK you are calling from.
If you want to meet a particular person, please telephone in advance to make sure the right person is available, or make an appointment.
If you would like a planning document, contact details are set out at Annex B.
Other useful addresses are listed at Annex C.
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Web version prepared by Scottish Office Library and Information Services, February 1998