Graham Simpson MSP

Graham Simpson MSP said his amendments were required to “protect local democracy” from existing “draconian” measures.

The Bill as originally introduced by the Scottish Government included measures to appoint a planning performance co-ordinator who would flag up councils if they were not meeting government standards. Mr Simpson said ministers could then order councils to change their working practices.

Since what constituted poor performance was not defined, the Central Scotland MSP argued this 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, he added.

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.”