Response to your request

1. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because this information is not collated centrally by the government, but instead is held by each individual planning authority.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of the circumstances of the case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about the number of major development planning applications submitted to each planning authority, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

2. Major development appeals received between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2018

Authority Number of major appeals received City Council 3 Council 12 Angus Council 2 Council 3 Cairngorms National Park Authority 2 City of Council 24 Council 13 City Council 4 Council 17 Council 6 East Council 8 East Council 2 Council 1 Council 17 City Council 4 Council 20 Council 2 Council 5 Council 1 Council 3 Council 21 Council 9

4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR au=RRTMMR=c^ihfoh= www..gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a Renfrewshire Council 5 Council 11 Council 2 Council 7 Council 11 Council 1 Council 13 Note: If no relevant appeals involving a specific Authority have been received in the period, the Authority will not be listed.

3. Major development appeals allowed between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2018 Authority Number of major appeals allowed Aberdeenshire Council 6 Angus Council 1 Argyll and Bute Council 2 Cairngorms National Park Authority 3 City of Edinburgh Council 10 Dumfries and Galloway Council 5 Dundee City Council 1 East Ayrshire Council 7 East Dunbartonshire Council 1 Council 5 8 1 Highland Council 10 1 Midlothian Council 2 North Ayrshire Council 1 North Lanarkshire Council 7 Perth and Kinross Council 4 Scottish Borders Council 5 South Ayrshire Council 1 South Lanarkshire Council 3 Stirling Council 3 4 Note: If no relevant decisions have been issued for a specific Authority, the Authority will not be listed.

4. Parties involved in a planning appeal are responsible for meeting their own costs, such as professional representation. The Scottish Government are responsible for the administrative costs of the appeal including a venue required for a hearing or inquiry, publication costs and the cost of the appointed reporter.

5. Reporters are allocated to cases on the basis of their experience, skill and availability. DPEA has a cohort of salaried reporters who are Scottish Government Civil Servants and a panel of self-employed reporters who are employed on a case by case basis to deal with peaks in DPEA’s workload. Reporters will not be

4 The Courtyard, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XR au=RRTMMR=c^ihfoh= www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Planning/Appeals abcdefghij abcde abc a appointed to cases where there is a conflict of interest or to cases in the area which they live or have recently worked in the local authority.

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