Existing Statutory and policy context for participation

Note: this section is directly relevant to q1 in the Democracy Matters consultation.

Scotland has embedded community engagement and other participatory concepts into its public policy and many of the laws governing this.  The list below is not exhaustive, but we see the opportunities provided by the Democracy Matters conversations as being linked to these as part of a wider systemic framework for participatory democracy. 

We see the main components of this as:

  • The Scottish Approach to public policy making

  • The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act

  • The National Standards for Community Engagement

  • The Place Principle

  • Health and social care - Planning with People: community engagement and participation guidance

  • Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 – especially Local Place Planning

  • Children (Scotland) Act 1995 – Part Three on rights for communities to shape these.

  • Scotland's Open Government action plan: 2021 to 2025

  • The Equality Act 2010

  • Scottish Government Community Justice Outcomes, Performance and Improvement Framework

Human rights

In addition to these existing law and policy commitments there is now the beginning of emerging case law relating to community engagement, equality and human rights

This important judgement in South Ayrshire found that key aspects of decisions to make changes to public services must involve effective consultation with those affected for equality impact assessments to have been meaningful and lawful. This case was judged to have breached section 149 of the Equalities Act and exhibited tokenistic consultation prompting judicial intervention. Since then, several community organisations and groups of anti-cuts campaigners have cited the judgment to challenge policy decisions where there has been inadequate participation of those affected.

The proposed Human Rights Bill (Scotland ) currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament builds on this judgement and proposes new rights to participation in Scotland, as well as seeking to incorporate international human rights treaties which will also have a bearing on participation issues in the new legislation.

Links to other areas

In addition to improving local democracy in Scotland, DM2 is a timely opportunity to strengthen existing rights and legislation in relation to other areas. For instance, it is a chance to address any gaps in existing empowerment infrastructure, such as the legal status of community-led action plans. Furthermore, it is an opportunity to innovate on a broader democratic canvass in ways which make existing rights more deliverable as well as creating new ones.

Democracy Matters also has strong links with potential new legislation in relation to 20-minute neighbourhoods and community wealth building, and we see democratic development at a local level as making an important contribution to the creation of meaningful jobs as part of a sustainable local economy.

The policy environment for engagement and empowerment is rich and complex. While this creates opportunities to turn this into highly progressive activity on the ground, there is also potential for confusion and unintended consequences as new arrangements are introduced, especially alongside other empowerment developments which many feel have not yet been fully realised. The resulting complexity around systemic connections between legislation, policy, resources, relationships and behaviours on the ground create an environment for democratic innovation that will be best navigated by those who understand it thoroughly. This creates an ongoing challenge for us all, and particularly for community development support to local people, as they work with its opportunities, limitations and the wider policy choices it will surface.

Next: Core principles