Graham Simpson MSP amendments to the Planning (Scotland) Bill, to protect local democracy were successfully passed by the Local Government and Communities Committee.
The Bill as originally introduced by the SNP Government had a deeply worrying section on performance, councillors and training. The Scottish Government wanted to appoint a planning performance coordinator who would flag up councils if they were not meeting Scottish Government standards. Ministers could order councils to change their working practices.
What constituted poor performance was not defined, which left the way open for the whole process to become very political. If a council refused to grant consent for a planning application the Scottish Government could define that as underperforming.
This is a dangerous precedent and highlights the SNP Government’s centralising agenda. Graham lodged amendments to have these draconian sections of the Bill removed.
Graham Simpson MSP said “My amendments removed the requirement for councillors to undergo mandatory training and the section of the Bill which set out how Scottish Ministers could assess the performance of planning authorities – including powers for an appointed person.
“These provisions would have left the way open for the whole process to become very political. If a council took a series of planning decisions that conflicted the agenda of any future Scottish Government, the Scottish Government could determine that they were “underperforming”. This is a dangerous precedent.
“My view on this, shaped by 10 years as a councillor, is that they are elected to take decisions affecting their areas and it is an affront to democracy for someone to then set them a test to rule on whether they are bright enough to do so.
“In any case, the Minister himself has refused to take any exam – despite being the ultimate arbiter on planning matters. I welcome the Committee’s support to have these draconian measures removed from the Bill”.