Annual Reports

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2014, Section 32
Annual Reports on Participation Requests 2024-25
Date: 3 June 2025

1. In respect of the reporting year from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, the Comhairle received no participation requests under the Act.
2. The Comhairle promotes the use of participation requests by having a page on its website which provides relevant information on how community participation bodies can make requests. The Comhairle has received no expression of interest from a community participation body in the making of a participation request, so it has not had to take any action to support a community participation body in the making of a participation request. One reason for the lack of any formal requests may be the Comhairle’s close communication and engagement with community bodies, which means that those community bodies have not felt the need to use the formal process set out in the Act.
3. In March 2025, the Scottish Government published a review of the wider use of community participation requests (Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 - part 3 participation requests: findings report review)

The key findings of that review are:

• Whilst the Act provides a useful framework for community groups to turn to, use of the formal process set out in the Act is low across the whole of Scotland.
• Despite that, the legislation has encouraged public bodies to be more accessible and transparent by using alternative methods of engagement with community groups before using the formal route provided by the Act.
• Nevertheless, more work needs to be done by public bodies to raise awareness of the right to use participation requests.

As a result of the review, the Scottish Government has committed to:

• Consult with public bodies, community groups and other stakeholders on the potential benefits of updating the statutory guidance relating to the Act;
• Undertake targeted consultation on the proposal to adopt a set of participation request principles; and
• Explore options on ways to improve awareness of the benefits of participation requests and understanding of the process involved in making them.