Scottish Government consultations

We sought views on the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018: proposed amendments. The consultation opened on the 15 December 2023 and closed on 30 March 2024.

We received 50 responses to our consultation questions. These included responses from 42 organisations and 8 individuals.

Respondents were generally supportive of:

• the proposals on the technical provisions relating to water, waste, and industrial activities;
• the four proposed new activities and changes to the process in relation to the public consultation and call-in procedure;
• the various amendments to the common procedures in the 2018 Regulations and technical provisions for radioactive substances activities.

A full analysis of the consultation is available on the Scottish Government website.

The analysis of responses received has been published, along with the individual responses (where permission was granted). The Scottish Government intends to implement the proposals set out in the consultation to amend the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018. We will now take all the comments and suggestions made as a result of the public consultation into consideration when preparing the Scottish Statutory Instrument.

We asked for views on the operation of the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services. This was an opportunity for those who have advocated for change, including aspects such as improved resilience, greater transparency, better communications, responsiveness, service flexibility, and increased certainty for communities and service-users, to directly contribute to the contract development process.

In total, 434 responses to the consultation were received, Most of the responses were submitted by individual members of the public. There were also 41 responses from organisations, including Ferry Community Boards and Ferry Committees. Community Councils and Development Trusts (the two largest groups with eight and seven respondents respectively) also contributed responses.

Respondents expressed views about the ferry services within the Clyde and Hebrides area. A recurring theme was the unreliability of the services, particularly in relation to timetable changes, reduced services, and last-minute delays or cancellations. This has led to a perception of the service being at a crisis point.

Communication issues were also highlighted, with instances of passengers not being informed about cancellations until the last minute. It was stated that the unreliability of the services has caused difficulties for commuters and those needing to attend important appointments, in addition to creating challenges for businesses, affecting the movement of goods and staff.

Despite these concerns, the vessel crew and port staff were often commended for their resourcefulness, resilience, and responsiveness, embodying the qualities desired for the entire CHFS operation.

The consultation responses have been carefully considered and CalMac is working collaboratively with Transport Scotland on a range of improvement measures.  We will continue to engage with communities, unions and businesses to update them on the consultation outputs, and planned service enhancements in relation to the issues raised; this includes working with CalMac to proactively roll out an Enhancement and Change Plan.  We will be hosting in-person community engagement events  alongside webinars to discuss the next steps for the service.  Further updates will also be made available via the CHFS3 website as they become available.

We asked for your views on Community Learning and Development (CLD) in Scotland. We asked learners, potential learners, practitioners and stakeholders of CLD what they think is working well and what could be done better.

We did this to help the Independent Review of CLD provide information and recommendations to the Scottish Government relating to measuring outcomes delivered through CLD, delivering positive outcomes and improved life chances for marginalised and vulnerable learners and a suitably professionalised CLD workforce equipped to deliver high quality outcomes for learners.

We received a total of 1140 responses on Citizen Space, of which 717 were from learners and potential learners and 423 were from practitioners.

Awareness and visibility of CLD was highlighted as a key issue. Respondents suggested that awareness can be limited by CLD being a poorly defined sector and having insufficient policy profile. There were calls for better communication to improve awareness of CLD provision, and especially around the positive impacts being delivered.

Poor awareness of CLD opportunities was also highlighted as a particular issue for people who want to access learning. Respondents suggested that access can be easier for those who have already engaged with CLD and who are aware of local opportunities. Reaching those who might benefit from CLD but who have not yet engaged with services remains a challenge. 

Flexibility of learning provision was seen as a key strength for CLD, especially in terms of making opportunities as widely accessible as possible. However, respondents referred to multiple barriers to access. These included access to and cost of transport, digital exclusion, and maintaining CLD alongside other time commitments. Funding challenges were also highlighted as impacting the CLD workforce and learner journey.

Practitioners were clear about the positive outcomes they deliver for learners, and the contribution that CLD makes to national policy priorities. However, there was a perception that CLD is undervalued. Respondents wished to see change to increase the profile and status of CLD across the wider learning and skills sector.

Learners reported that they felt well supported by CLD practitioners throughout their learning. This included support to build on their current learning, and specifically around transitions during their learning journey. Practitioners referred to a range of methods used to assess the effectiveness of outcomes, but saw scope for this to improve. It was suggested that consideration should be given to data collection around national outcomes against a set of agreed KPIs.

The Scottish Government is grateful to those who took the time to provide a response to these consultations. The responses have been helpful in informing the review report and recommendations to the Scottish Government, which will be published in due course. We have published all non-confidential responses to the review. The analysis of these responses will be made available in the overall Evidence Report, which will be published alongside the review report and recommendations. Direct links to these will be added below once they are published.