On 8 January 2026, Scottish Ministers published the fourth delivery programme supporting the implementation of National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). The delivery programme sets out what actions the Scottish Ministers have taken, what progress has been made, and what the priorities are going forward in relation to NPF4’s implementation.
The previous delivery programme was published in October 2024 and the latest version is updated to reflect the changes in the economic, social and political environment since then while also looking ahead to 2026.
Monitoring of implementation 2024 and 2025
The delivery programme focuses on various aspects of work over 2024/2025 and below are a few areas of note:
New local development plans
The target date of May 2028 for “new style” LDPs to be adopted was set out in the Development Planning Regulations. The delivery programme notes that at least 13 planning authorities are anticipating that they will miss that deadline – 26 are still gathering evidence for their gatecheck submission (or re-submission).
Only 7 planning authorities have passed the gatecheck and are working on their proposed plans. 8 evidence reports (including resubmissions) have been held to be insufficient, mostly around taking an infrastructure first approach and establishing an indicative Local Housing Land Requirement.
Since April 2025, planning authorities are required to provide 6 monthly updates on the preparation of their plans (the next is due in March 2026) to ensure progress continues to be made.
The Scottish Ministers and the National Planning Improvement Champion are looking to launch a support package to try and encourage good progress going forward.
National developments
There is work with Scottish Futures Trust and other stakeholders to identify how the Scottish Ministers can support the progress of the national developments identified in NPF4.
The National Planning Hub (established in April 2025) is facilitating planning and consenting processes for hydrogen and renewables. There is an acknowledged need to prioritise national developments that will provide housing given the Housing Emergency, including the promotion of masterplan consent areas for residential schemes in priority locations.
There has also been work on more effectively monitoring the national developments – the details of each national development can be found in the table at page 5 of the delivery programme.
National policy
The Scottish Ministers are open to feedback on the application of the planning policies in NPF4 and stress their continued engagement with Heads of Planning Scotland to discuss issues. For each policy, the delivery programme sets out what has been done, and what is currently planned to assist in the consistent application of each policy (e.g. Chief Planner’s letters, issued guidance and funding initiatives etc).
In 2026, guidance is anticipated in respect of Policy 6 (Forestry, woodlands and trees) and Policy 11 (Energy – specifically hydrogen consenting). There will also be a consultation on potential measures to accelerate housebuilding in early 2026.
Progress in relation to priorities in the October 2024 delivery programme
With a need to increase skills and expertise in the planning system, the National Planning Hub was set up to directly support capacity and expertise issues in planning authorities with the assistance of the Planning Improvement Service. This is alongside graduate programmes, skills commitments and collaboration with the industry to share experiences and skills.
Other initiatives relate to planning fees, masterplan consent areas, the National Planning Improvement Champion, compulsory purchase reform, infrastructure delivery, sustainable places and housing delivery.
Priorities for 2026
The delivery programme highlights the following areas as priorities for 2026:
- Phase 2 of the National Planning Hub’s work supporting planning authorities in relation to housing, hydrogen and onshore wind (October 2025 to March 2026), alongside wider upskilling and collaboration work in conjunction with the Planning Improvement Service.
- Enhanced monitoring of the impact of NPF4 policies, including new quantitative and qualitative data sources.
- Continued monitoring of the application of NPF4 housing policy and recognising the need for intervention where needed.
- Working with stakeholders to roll out and implement updated guidance on housing land audits.
- Reviewing planning fees and their impacts, including proposed inflationary increases coming into effect April 2026.
- Assisting in the delivery of masterplan consent area schemes being brought forward by earlier adopters.
There is also a continued commitment to collaboration with the various stakeholders within both the public and private sector through various working groups, advisory groups, industry bodies and government agencies.
From a more hands-on perspective, the delivery plan also confirms that funding has been secured for a redesign/replacement of the eDevelopment.scot service for the submission of applications and appeals. The first phase of this process is to commence in 2026, with an initial iteration of the new service expected within 12 months.
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