179.Subsections (1) and (2) give the Scottish Ministers or an appointed person the power to conduct an assessment of how a planning authority deals with applications for planning permission. This power is limited to exclude decisions made within the year preceding the date that the planning authority are notified of the assessment. The assessment may cover the basis for determinations, the processes by which they have been made and whether they were in accordance with the development plan or conformed with advice given by the Scottish Ministers.