Established as part of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 in United Kingdom law, the statements of community involvement are produced by local authorities to explain to the public how they will be involved in the preparation of local development documents. They should set out the standards to be met by the authority in terms of community involvement, building upon the minimum requirements set out in the Regulations and PPS 12. Prior to the statement being adopted, local authorities must ensure that any plan preparation work meets these minimum requirements.
A key outcome of the SCI will be to encourage 'front loading' meaning that consultation with the public begins at the earliest stages of each document's development so that communities are given the fullest opportunity to participate in plan making and to make a difference.
It will be included as part of the core strategy document - one of the statutory local development documents.