The statutory planning system has evolved to manage changes in land use for the general benefit of society, finding ways to balance the demand for different uses of land and property, locating land uses so that they are sensibly related to each other and trying to ensure that land is not developed in such a way that it unacceptably harms the long terms needs of people, the economy or the environment.

Planning authorities are responsible for three main elements of the planning system - preparing development plans that set out the vision for the future development of an area, deciding on applications for planning permission and other related consents, and taking enforcement action against development that hasn't been approved. There are 34 planning authorities in Scotland - the 32 councils and 2 national park authorities. Professional planners (members of the Royal Town Planning Institute) form the majority of staff in the planning service of these authorities.

A wide range of technical and generic skills and competencies are required in planning services to ensure a good quality service is delivered to customers and that decision making on the future development of an area results in the desired outcomes.

The Planning Development Programme is one outcomes of the modernisation of the planning system which is being promoted by the Scottish Government in partnership with stakeholders in the system. Modernisation is necessary because the planning system has not been serving its purpose well enough. The modernisation agenda is substantial, and its implementation is expected to place strains on the system and those working within it. During the development of the modernisation proposals, a skills shortage in planning authorities was identified as one issues needing to be addressed. The Planning Development Programme was created in 2006 to help authorities to address their training and development needs.

Information on the statutory planning system in Scotland and the modernisation proposals are available on the website of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Planning Authority Skills Assessment was commissioned by the Improvement Service in 2006 to look at the skills required to deliver planning services and the current availability of those skills in authorities. It also looked at training and development opportunities, barriers and preferences.

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