Related guide: Community engagement strategy: how to write one and put it into practice
A statement of community involvement (SCI) is a local planning authority's published policy on how it will involve the community in preparing local plans and deciding planning applications. In England, section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires one, the authority must follow it when preparing plans, and it must be reviewed every five years. Since 25 March 2026, a new plan-making system under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 has replaced these provisions for new local plans, with SCIs still applying to plans continuing under the legacy system.
This guide is for planning officers, engagement teams and project leads in England. It explains what an SCI covers, the legal basis, what changed in 2026, how it relates to the Gunning principles, and how to write or review one. It is a general summary, not legal advice. Check current requirements with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government guidance or your legal team. For similar documents elsewhere, see our guide to engagement documents required by law.
What is a statement of community involvement?
An SCI sets out how a local planning authority will involve people who have an interest in development in its area. It typically explains who the authority will consult, how it will consult them and at which stages, for both plan-making and planning applications. It is written for residents, businesses, developers and community groups, so they know what to expect and can hold the authority to it.
An SCI is organization-wide. It does not replace a consultation plan for a specific local plan stage, masterplan or major application, but each of those should meet what the SCI promises. Our guide to writing a community engagement plan covers the project level.
Who must prepare one?
Under the legacy system, every local planning authority in England must prepare a statement of community involvement. This includes district and unitary councils, London boroughs and other bodies with plan-making functions under Part 2 of the 2004 Act. Wales has its own arrangements: a community involvement scheme forms part of each local development plan's delivery agreement.
What is the legal basis?
The main provisions, as they apply under the legacy system, are:
Section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires the authority to prepare an SCI. It is a statement of the authority's policy on involving people with an interest in development in its plan-making functions and its functions under Part 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, which includes planning applications. It must also set out the authority's policies for giving advice or assistance on neighborhood plans and orders.
Section 19(3) requires the authority to comply with its SCI when preparing local development documents.
Regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 requires the SCI to be reviewed every five years from its adoption date.
Planning practice guidance says the SCI must set out how the authority will engage communities at the preliminary stages of plan-making, and notes there is no legal requirement to consult when reviewing and updating it, although informing the public is good practice.
Separately, the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 sets minimum publicity for planning applications, such as site notices or letters to neighbors, with newspaper notices for some types. An SCI often commits to more than these minimums.
What changed in 2026?
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced a new local plan-making system. From 25 March 2026, new plan-making provisions replaced the old ones in Part 2 of the 2004 Act, including section 18. The old provisions are saved for plans continuing to adoption under the legacy system, so SCIs still govern those plans.
The new provisions do not include a section requiring an SCI. Instead, the government's draft guidance on engaging the public (April 2026) says authorities should have a well-defined community engagement strategy, set out in their Project Initiation Document, and sets mandatory consultation stages:
A scoping consultation at the start, which must ask for views on what to include in the plan and how to approach future plan engagement. The guidance says it should last at least 21 days.
A consultation on proposed plan content and evidence, lasting a minimum of six weeks.
A consultation on the proposed local plan, lasting a minimum of eight weeks.
Published summaries of each consultation, including the feedback received and how it was considered.
During the transition, an authority may therefore need both: an SCI for plans continuing under the legacy system, and an engagement strategy for new-system plans. Councils can also choose to keep publishing an SCI to explain how they involve people in planning applications. Because the guidance is still draft, check the current position before revising your documents.
What does a statement of community involvement cover?
Plan-making: how the authority will engage at each stage, from the early survey and local development scheme stages through consultation on the draft plan and examination.
Planning applications: how applications are publicized, who is notified, how comments are made and how they are considered, and any encouragement for pre-application engagement by applicants.
Neighborhood planning: the advice and assistance the authority will give to groups preparing neighborhood plans or orders.
Who will be consulted: statutory consultees and other bodies, residents, businesses, community groups and groups that are often underrepresented.
How: the methods the authority uses, online and offline, and how it makes information accessible.
When and how people hear back: how responses are recorded and reported, and how they influenced the outcome.
How does it relate to the Gunning principles?
The Gunning principles are a long-standing legal test of fair consultation in England. As summarized by the Consultation Institute, consultation must happen while proposals are still at a formative stage, give enough reasons for people to respond intelligently, allow adequate time, and take responses conscientiously into account when the decision is made.
An SCI is where an authority shows, in advance, how it will meet those principles. Committing to engage before options are fixed, to publish clear information, to allow reasonable periods and to report how responses were considered turns the principles into practice. A project that departs from its SCI may also struggle against the principles.
How to write or review one
Start with what the law and guidance require. Confirm whether you are writing for legacy plans, planning applications, the new system, or all three.
Look at what actually happened. Review recent plan consultations and major applications. Who responded, who did not, and what complaints were raised?
Name your audiences. Go beyond statutory consultees to the groups your planning engagement tends to miss. Our guide to stakeholder analysis can help.
Scale engagement to significance. Set out what you do for minor, major and strategic matters, so officers do not default to the minimum.
Be specific about feedback. Say when and how you will publish what you heard and how it was considered. A community engagement report is the usual vehicle.
Keep it short and usable. A plain, concise SCI is easier for residents to read and for officers to follow.
Set the review date. Put the five-year review in the calendar and review sooner when practice or law changes.
A suggested outline:
Section | What it covers |
|---|---|
Introduction | What the SCI is, which functions and plans it covers, and how it relates to any new-system engagement strategy |
Principles | Commitments on timing, accessibility, clear information and feedback, consistent with the Gunning principles |
Who we involve | Statutory consultees, other bodies, residents, businesses and harder-to-reach groups |
Plan-making | Engagement at each stage of plan preparation, with methods and minimum periods |
Planning applications | Publicity, notification, pre-application engagement and how comments are considered |
Neighborhood planning | Advice and assistance for neighborhood plan and order groups |
Methods and accessibility | Online and offline methods, formats, venues and support |
Feedback | How responses are recorded, reported and used |
Monitoring and review | How the authority checks performance and when the SCI is reviewed |
Common gaps
The SCI says one thing, consultations do another. Commitments are not carried into consultation plans for each stage, so practice varies by officer.
Minimums treated as the target. Statutory periods and site notices are the floor, not evidence of good involvement.
Engaging too late. Consulting only once a preferred option exists sits uneasily with the formative-stage principle.
No visible feedback. Responses are summarized for committee but people never hear how they influenced the plan.
Out of date. The SCI misses its five-year review or still describes methods the authority no longer uses.
Unclear status after 2026. Teams are unsure whether the SCI or the new engagement strategy applies to a given plan.
Applying it on every project
An SCI, or its successor engagement strategy, only works if every consultation meets it. That means checking it when each plan stage or major application is scoped, building its commitments into the engagement timeline, recording what was heard and reporting back in the way it promises.
CE Canvas helps planning and engagement teams do this by turning their engagement strategy and framework into the way every project is planned, delivered and reported, so published commitments become the default for each project. See how it works for teams with an established engagement practice.
Frequently asked questions
Is a statement of community involvement still required in England?
It depends on the plan. Since 25 March 2026, the new plan-making system under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 has replaced section 18 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 for new local plans, and draft government guidance expects a community engagement strategy instead. The old provisions, including the SCI, are saved for plans continuing under the legacy system. Check current guidance from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
How often must a statement of community involvement be reviewed?
Under regulation 10A of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012, a local planning authority must review its SCI every five years from its adoption date. Planning practice guidance encourages more regular updates when engagement practice changes.
Does a council have to consult on its statement of community involvement?
Planning practice guidance says there is no legal requirement to consult when reviewing and updating an SCI, although it is good practice to tell the public about intended changes. If the existing SCI promises consultation on changes, the authority should consider that commitment.
What are the Gunning principles?
They are four tests of fair consultation from English case law: consult while proposals are at a formative stage, give sufficient reasons for people to respond intelligently, allow adequate time, and conscientiously take responses into account in the final decision. An SCI is a way of showing in advance how an authority will meet them.
Does Wales use statements of community involvement?
No. In Wales, a community involvement scheme forms part of the delivery agreement for each local development plan, under the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and the Town and Country Planning (Local Development Plan) (Wales) Regulations 2005.