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Race Equality Advisory Forum

Planning action plan

Issues

Research around planning and race equality, including several reports published by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), has highlighted the need for the following issues to be addressed if race equality is to be promoted and institutional racism eliminated in the provision of planning services:

• under-representation in employment
• insufficient or inadequate consultation with minority ethnic communities
• failure to race-equality-proof policies and procedures
• inadequate data collection, analysis and monitoring
• failure to implement guidance on good practice.

Actions

a) Leadership and strategic direction

1 This plan to be adopted by the Scottish Executive with specific responsibility for its delivery to be given to a designated Departmental Minister and a named senior official with a specific remit for race equality;

2 The Scottish Executive Development Department (SEDD) to provide guidance for Planning Authorities, planning professionals and others with an interest, by way of a circular on the implications of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000, National Planning Policy Guidance or a Planning Advice Note on Equal Opportunities, on how best to promote race equality, eradicate institutional racism and consult with minority ethnic communities; such guidance should also remind authorities of their legal obligations, including those under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1998;

3 Planning Authorities to draw up departmental race equality action plans identifying objectives, responsibilities, resources and performance indicators;

4 Planning Authorities to develop and implement systems for ethnic monitoring as a priority, especially in development control;

b) Consultation, involvement and identification of needs

1 SEDD to ensure that relevant minority ethnic community interests are consulted and involved in policy development and review;

2 Planning Authorities to consult and communicate effectively with relevant communities; such consultation to make use of methods which are both imaginative and systematic and which operate at all levels;

3 SEDD and Planning Authorities to systematically assess the needs of minority ethnic communities. As part of such assessment, particular needs, urban and rural, should be identified. These may include issues relating to design, safety, sustainability, housing location and size, recreational and religious provision and transport;

c) Mainstreaming of race equality into planning and processes

1 SEDD to equality proof National Planning Policy Guidelines (NPPGs) and Planning Advice Notes (PANs) when they are next amended; such proofing to ensure that equality issues, including race equality, are mainstreamed into all NPPGs and PANs, as well as planning circulars;

2 Planning Authorities to equality proof all statutory land use plans and development briefs to ensure that the needs of all sections of the community are appropriately addressed;

3 SEDD and Planning Authorities to analyse the impact of all policy development and significant decisions on minority ethnic communities;

4 SEDD to introduce guidance on ethnically disaggregated monitoring of Development Control including enforcement;

d) Employment and training

1 Planning Authorities to develop good race equality practice in relation to recruitment, selection, training and promotion of staff;

2 SEDD, in partnership with Planning Authorities and the planning profession, to develop positive action strategies to attract minority ethnic staff into the profession;

3 SEDD, COSLA and Planning Authorities to ensure that all staff in the planning system receive equality, including race equality, training commensurate with their duties;

e) Research

1 SEDD to commission research to identify shortfall in existing provision and good practice in promoting equality of opportunity in the land use planning system; the good practice identified to be subsequently disseminated to planning interests with guidance on implementation.

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