Reporting

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During and after the participation request

This guide summarises the different ways that Public Service Authorities (PSAs) have to report on Participation Requests and when they should seek the views of community participation bodies (CPBs)to create reports.

The Participation Request legislation and regulations set out how Public Service Authorities (PSAs) have to report on Participation Requests at different stages on the process.

You can read more about what the legislation requires in the Scottish Government’s statutory guidance for participation requests. See the final page of the guidance, on ‘reporting’.

The decision notice

When you have submitted a request, the PSA has to issue a decision notice which says whether they are accepting or refusing your request – if they are refusing your request, the notice should give the reasons why.   The decision notice should also provide information about:

  • the outcome improvement process,

  • ho w your group is expected to participate in the process, and

  • if anyone else is involved in the process, how they are expected to participate.

As well as letting you know their decision, the PSA must publish the decision notice on a website or by other electronic means.

The CPB can ask for modifications to the outcome improvement process within 28 days of the decision notice.  If the PSA agrees to any modifications, these should also be published.

 

Annual Reporting

Each reporting year, the PSA must publish a participation request report.  Reporting year means a period of one year beginning on 1st April.

The participation request report must include the following information for that reporting year:

  • The number of participation requests the PSA has received;

  • The number of requests it has accepted;

  • The number of requests it has refused;

  • The number of requests that have resulted in a change to a public service provided by (or on behalf of) the PSA;

  • Any action taken by the PSA to promote participation requests; and

  • Any action taken by the PSA to support community bodies in making a request.

The annual participation request report must be published by 30th June each year.  It should be published online.

 

When the participation request ends

When an outcome improvement process has been completed, the Public Service Authority must publish a report that:

  • summarises the outcomes of the process;

  • says whether (and if so, to what extent) the outcome specified in the PR has been improved;

  • describes how, and to what extent, the participation of the community participation body influenced the process; and

  • explains how they will keep the community participation body informed about

    • Changes in the outcomes of the outcomes of the process

    • Any other matters relating to the outcomes.

The legislation also says that when preparing the report, the Public Service Authority should seek the views of the community participation bodies involved in the outcome improvement process in relation to:

  • the way that the outcome improvement process was conducted; and

  • the outcomes of the process, including whether (and, if so, how and to what extent) the specified outcome specified in the PR has been improved.

The community participation bodies whose views should be sought are the CPB who submitted the request and any other CPBs who were involved in the outcome improvement process.

The legislation states that this report must be published on a website or by other electronic means.

Social Studios’ Forum Formula considers what information you will share at an evaluation event but could also help you consider what information would be useful to share within the report.