Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

Reporting

31 Reporting

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a participation request has been made, and

(b) the outcome improvement process relating to that request is complete.

(2) The public service authority that established the process must publish a report—

(a) summarising the outcomes of the process, including whether (and, if so, how and to what extent) the specified outcome to which the process related has been improved,

(b) describing how and to what extent the participation of the community participation body that made the participation request to which the process related influenced the process and the outcomes, and

(c) explaining how the authority intends to keep the community participation body and any other persons informed about—

(i) changes in the outcomes of the process, and

(ii) any other matters relating to the outcomes.

(3) In preparing the report mentioned in subsection (2), the public service authority must seek the views of the bodies mentioned in subsection (4) in relation to—

(a) the way in which the outcome improvement process was conducted, and

(b) the outcomes of the process, including whether (and, if so, how and to what extent) the specified outcome to which the process related has been improved.

(4) The bodies referred to in subsection (3) are––

(a) the community participation body which made the participation request to which the outcome improvement process related, and

(b) any other community participation bodies which participated in that process.

(5) The authority must publish the report mentioned in subsection (2) on a website or by other electronic means.

(6) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision about reports published under subsection (2), including the information (in addition to that required under that subsection) that reports are to contain.

32 Annual reports

(1) A public service authority must publish a participation request report for each reporting year.

(2) A participation request report is a report setting out, in respect of the reporting year to which it relates—

(a) the number of participation requests the authority received,

(b) the number of such requests which the authority—

(i) agreed to, and

(ii) refused,

(c) the number of such requests which resulted in changes to a public service provided by or on behalf of the authority, and

(d) any action taken by the authority—

(i) to promote the use of participation requests,

(ii) to support a community participation body in the making of a participation request.

(3) A participation request report is to be published under subsection (1) no later than 30 June following the end of the reporting year to which it relates.

(4) In this section, “reporting year” means a period of one year beginning on 1 April.

33 Ministerial report

(1) The Scottish Ministers must prepare, and lay before the Scottish Parliament, a report on the operation of participation requests.

(2) The report is to be prepared before the expiry of the period of three years beginning with the day on which section 22 comes into force.