Participation Requests

The Participation Request (Procedure) Regulations 2016 came into force on 1st April 2017 as part of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.  The regulations apply to all public service authorities identified in the Act.  

A Participation Request can be made by an eligible community participation body (for example a Community Council) to a public service authority to request participation and involvement in a specific decision making process. Integration Joint Boards (IJB’s) are not classed as public service authorities under the Community Empowerment Act, however health boards and local authorities are.  

This means that IJBs / HSCPs must be ready to respond to Participation Requests made to a relevant public service authority such as Glasgow City Council or NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (or possibly both) if the request relates to health and social care services that they manage. 

A Participation Request could also be made to another public service authority, for example Police Scotland, which relates to services delivered by the HSCP and therefore requires a response.  

The purpose of the Participation Request should fall into one of the following broad categories; 

  • Help people start a dialogue about something that matters to their community and highlight needs, issues or opportunities for improvement
  • Help people have their voice heard in policy and service development by participating in decision making processes
  • Help people participate in the design, delivery, monitoring and review of service provision by contributing to service change or improvement
  • Help people challenge decisions and seek support for alternative outcomes

For further information on how to make a Participation Request to Glasgow City Council in relation to services delivered by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership on behalf of the Council please visit their Participation Request information page at www.glasgow.gov.uk/participationrequests

Further information on the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at the following link: 

Specific guidance on Participation Requests can also be found: