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The thinking is that when we publish the final NPF4 draft, we will set out how it will be delivered. It is a legitimate question—why not publish a delivery plan at the outset? I was conscious that I did not want to prejudge the outcome of the consultation, engagement and scrutiny. The other aspect is that when we publish a delivery plan, as I referenced in my opening statement, it will not be a capital investment plan. It will be a development plan. A lot of the ways that it will be delivered from a public sector side are already illustrated in other strategies. Mr McLennan made reference to “Housing to 2040”, which is one example.

The important thing to remember is that it is not just the public sector that is delivering this. It is a partnership approach between national Government and local government, and the private sector also has a huge role to play in its delivery. Planning works as a facilitator and an enabler. We are working with the Scottish Futures Trust on that.

Following the publication of the final NPF4, we want to get to a position where we can deliver a delivery plan—a bit of a clumsy phrase—that will highlight and bring together the various streams of funding that are available to support realising the vision and ambition that is in NPF4. However, I note that a lot of those funding streams are already online. I made reference to things such as the place-based investment programme, vacant and derelict land and our commitments on resourcing for “Housing to 2040”. A lot of that is already live.

On the points that were made about how NPF4 relates to other strategy documents, the delivery plan will help to answer that by bringing together and highlighting the different vehicles that will be deployed to realise what is in NPF4.

Have I missed any points that Fiona would like to pick up on?

That is a very good question, and it comes from someone who has had much experience of bringing forward legislation and documents.

I am heartened by the discussions that we have had not just today but in general, because, notwithstanding some areas of contention, what we are really talking about now is fine tuning and making the document the best that it can possibly be. I am not picking up from the committee or from wider stakeholders that there are fundamental disagreements over the direction of travel.

We have an opportunity to work intensely and at pace, and we can bring forward a finalised NPF4 for Parliament to vote on and for ministers to adopt by the summer recess. That reflects the collaborative work that has been undertaken over the past two years. I pay tribute to my predecessor, Kevin Stewart, for the work that he undertook on NPF4 when he was the minister with responsibility for planning.

We are in a very good place. The important thing is that we need to get this right. Quality cannot be sacrificed for speed, because this is going to be a hugely important document. It will define our spatial strategy up until 2045, and that is my priority. We are in a very good place and there is intense work and continued engagement as we work towards the end of the public consultation phase, on 31 March. I am confident that we can have a finalised NPF4 for Parliament to consider before the summer.

I appreciate the question, Dr Allan. That aim is not explicitly set out in the national planning framework, but one of the indirect consequences of supporting and increasing rural populations would be the direct benefit to Gaelic-speaking communities. However, I am conscious that Bòrd na ��à���������� has highlighted some useful ideas, which we will consider and reflect on ahead of bringing a finalised NPF4 back to Parliament later this year.

Yes. I would add that policy 5 is a universal policy and that all development has to be considered through that community wealth-building lens. That agenda will grow and intensify throughout this parliamentary session as we work towards introducing legislation on community wealth building.

Some of the universal policies will have varying degrees of relevance and applicability. Aquaculture is one area where there will be significant interest. Although we are specifically discussing the role of the planning system in NPF4, these conversations could be expanded into the community wealth-building space, and I look forward to having them in due course.

The detail that the cabinet secretary has conveyed about engagement specific to rural issues reflects the broader approach that has been taken to developing the draft NPF4.

The draft framework is the culmination of quite a long journey, going all the way back to the independent review of the planning system that was commissioned at the tail end of 2015, which reported throughout, and the work that led up to the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, which has clearly informed the design, structure and layout of NPF4 in its new, enhanced status.

We have of course had an engagement process. There was a call for ideas, followed by two rounds of extensive consultation and engagement. We published a position statement in November 2020 and we consulted on that. There has been extensive stakeholder engagement through that process.

I will provide some numbers. We have had nearly 350 written responses, 180 people participated in our roadshow workshops and we spoke to around 100 people at our drop-in sessions across the country. There was strong support throughout for a bold and radical NPF4.

I think that the process has gone beyond engagement to almost genuine co-production. I think that that is reflected in the response that we have seen to NPF4 so far. Notwithstanding particular points around some of the detail, I think that there is a growing and strengthening consensus about the direction of travel on NPF4. I believe that that emanates directly from how the draft NPF4 was brought into existence, which was through extensive consultation and engagement.

Convener, I can give you some more details about the on-going parliamentary consultation. The cabinet secretary rightly highlighted that 120 days is double the time that was previously in place. That timeframe is set out in statute, in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, which was agreed by the Parliament.

Of course, a public consultation is running in parallel until 31 March, and we are supporting communities to engage with that. I can provide some details. There is a community grant scheme, which makes available grants of up to £250 to community groups to help them to engage. There are open invitation events over February and into March to give stakeholders the opportunity to discuss NPF4 and encourage participation in the formal consultation.

There are nine events in total, with one on each of the four policy themes and one for each of the five action areas. There is an equalities round-table discussion in March. The Royal Town Planning Institute is hosting round-table discussions on business energy development and house building during February and March. The Scottish Youth Parliament is holding a workshop at its next gathering in March. We are working with Police Scotland to support children and young people’s perspectives. Furthermore, there are discussions with community groups and online resources.

A huge amount of activity is taking place in parallel with the parliamentary scrutiny, to ensure that everyone who wants to contribute has an opportunity to do so. I reiterate that I very much want to encourage as much engagement as possible in the NPF4 process.

That is a fair point. I very much value that suggestion and the ideas that have been put forward. I assure Dr Allan that we will give them full consideration as we work towards producing a finalised NPF4.

As you will be aware, the spatial strategy is underpinned by six principles, one of which is the conserving and recycling of assets. That is reflected through policy 30, which is on vacant and derelict land. This speaks to our clear aspirations around climate change and a circular economy. We do not want to release the embedded carbon that is already there. We want to make use of existing assets.

That has huge applicability in a range of contexts. We will all be able to think of examples in densely populated urban environments where there are underutilised assets that can perhaps be brought back to life. A range of work goes on to support that through our place-based investment programme and asset transfers via the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, so that is already under way. NPF4 helps to strengthen that position and it is very clear and explicit. The policies around looking for brownfield land first are also relevant here.

Two other aspects of the spatial principles that complement that approach are compact growth and local living. Taking those things together holistically, we are aiming to encourage more growth and reuse of existing assets. That is applicable to rural environments, but I think that we all recognise that it has applicability to densely populated urban environments as well.

I do not know whether Fiona Simpson wants to comment.

I am happy to take that. Thank you, Ms Burgess. I look forward to discussing the issues with the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee, which you convene, in due course.

Your point is important. The first thing that I would say is that this is a draft NPF. We are in a consultation process and we are incredibly grateful for the interest being taken by the committees and the Parliament more widely, and indeed, by all the individuals and groups who want to participate and share their views. That is part of the process.

On how we got to this position, I do not want to go over the ground that we covered earlier, but I am clear that the process has been collaborative and we have had a lot of consultation on specific policy areas while working in partnership with communities on the input that led to the spatial strategy and the specific action areas that have been developed. We will take into account any feedback that we receive via the consultation and the Parliament, and that will be fed into and reflected in the NPF4 that we bring back to the Parliament for final approval.

Again, I do not want to repeat myself, but I want to make a key point about the balance between giving a clear steer and flexibility. That is also important. Planning authorities will still have that vital role in relation to local development plans but, crucially, also local place plans, regulations on which have now come into force. That will give local communities more of a say in shaping their LDPs.

It is important to bear it in mind that there is still the means to achieve the specificity that is required in localised situations. That is not just for LDPs; it has also been enhanced through local place plans. We are seeking to articulate here the broad vision at a very high level, so even within a spatial strategy for a particular area, it will not necessarily be universally applicable to every single community within that area. We also want to see partnership working at a regional level beyond the work with LDPs and local communities.

Fiona Simpson might want to add to that.

Correct me if I am wrong, convener, but I think that you expressed a view about sharing the burden of a just transition. That is reflected within NPF4. I recognise the point you make about renewable electricity generation. There is also offshore wind, including the recent very welcome announcements in Scotland. If we look, for example, at the key role of the north-east in a just transition, it is a centre of expertise and it is reflected in the industrial green transition zone, which runs down the north-east all the way to Grangemouth. That is another key example of how more organised urban areas will have a major part to play in our move towards net zero.

There is also—and this is perhaps beyond the scope of our discussions today—the huge contribution that will have to be made by urban areas, particularly in the central belt, towards heat in buildings, which will be a significant ask of the population in moving towards a just transition. We all have slightly different and nuanced roles to play in our move towards a just transition, I think that it is clear that there is no part of Scotland that will not have to share in the responsibility of realising our ambitions for 2030 and 2045.

I echo the points that the cabinet secretary made. The national development planning policy is not a top-down policy stipulating specific developments that will or will not happen. Ultimately, it is for local planning authorities to make determinations in the first instance and, when appropriate, to use relevant assessment criteria that is required in considering any application.

Is there anything that Fiona Simpson wants to add?