I note the cabinet secretary's comments, including those on consensus. Although plenty of members now talk the talk on consensus, planning is a very good example of the previous Executive's record of walking the walk on consensus. I welcome the fact that, in building consensus, John Swinney has expressed support for the previous Executive's approach. By comparison, many in his party, including his business manager, wish to take a different approach.

The statement encourages us to recognise the power of effective planning in transforming our communities and of the critical role that participation by individuals and communities—not consultation, but participation—plays at an early stage in ensuring the right kind of strategic planning decisions. My questions are on resource issues, which I believe are critical to successful realisation of the aims that lie behind the national planning framework. First, will the cabinet secretary continue to consider capacity in the planning system? How do we make planning an attractive career? Are we looking actively at scholarships and incentives to encourage people to come into planning—a profession that gives individuals a powerful means of taking part in the transformation of communities?

Secondly, and importantly, will Mr Swinney acknowledge that real participation involves skilled facilitation at local level? Is he willing to support organisations such as Planning Aid for Scotland that have credible track records in facilitating such work? In the need to look for cuts across government spending, will he resist the temptation to cut funding to such organisations? Doing so may be seen as a soft option, but such skilled facilitators are critical to the delivery of an effective planning process in Scotland.