Land Use Frameworks across the UK: A Review through the Lens of Public Service Reform to Inform Scotland's Fourth Land Use Strategy

This brief reviews land use frameworks across the UK to inform Scotland’s land use strategy refresh. It explores features that may signal alignment with Scotland’s Public Service Reform (PSR) principles for Place, People, Partnerships, Performance and Prevention, which reflect broader governance considerations across the UK.

Features explored include governance structures, participation approaches, monitoring and learning, policy instruments, delivery mechanisms, and integration with other policies.

The review is an overview and not a comparative or evaluative assessment of the UK’s land use frameworks. It draws on a rapid desk-based synthesis of statutory documents and consultation publications available as of September 2025.

This brief is published at a particularly timely moment, following the release of both Scotland’s Fourth Land Use Strategy and England’s Land Use Framework. Together, these recent developments reinforce the growing policy emphasis across the UK on more integrated approaches to land governance. The findings presented here contribute to that wider policy conversation.

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