This paper sets out Scottish Government's directions to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) on the application of a new EQS for EmBz. This ensures that SEPA exercise its regulatory and river basin management planning functions. Emamectin benzoate is widely used in the fish farm industry to control sea lice in marine finfish farming.
The new standard for EmBz is lower than the standard SEPA has used previously to set discharge limits for marine finfish farms. We are...More
Given the importance of sandeel to the wider ecosystem and the subsequent benefit in aiding long-term sustainability and resilience of the marine environment, it remains an overarching Scottish Government position, which is reflected in Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy , not to support fishing for sandeel in our waters. For this reason, the UK, supported by the Scottish Government, has not allocated sandeel quota since 2021.
There are several measures in place for the...More
This consultation seeks to obtain the views on proposed increases to the building warrant fees required to deliver change to strengthen the building standards system and the development of a new building warrant fees model in Scotland.
This consultation forms part of the work undertaken by the Verification Delivery Model work stream which is one of the seven work streams being directed by the Building Standards Futures Board.
The consultation will gather views...More
This consultation is seeking views and comments on the draft local living and 20 minute neighbourhood planning guidance.
The guidance is intended to assist and support local authorities, communities, and others with an interest in local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods. It is expected to be of particular relevance in the preparation of Local Development Plans (LDPs), Local Place Plans (LPPs) and to support planning decision making.
National Planning Framework (NPF4) ...More
Scotland’s first ever National Islands Plan was published in 2019. It is now being reviewed as required by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, which may lead to the publication of a new National Islands Plan. The Scottish Government wants to work together with local authorities, island communities and relevant sectors and partners to ensure this process is as thorough and effective as possible, providing us with vital feedback from those most impacted by the National Islands Plan. ...More
Elected members have a crucial role in the decision-making process within the planning system, being a vital part of our democratic process by carrying out specific planning functions including the determination of certain planning applications for their local authority. Elected members do not necessarily have a planning background and it is vital that adequate training is provided to ensure that elected members have the knowledge and understanding to help them make decisions that are...More
Our aim is for everyone in Scotland to live in safe, secure and warm homes. We want your views on how local taxation and existing housing can help achieve this. Your responses will help inform policy development and what actions we take next.
The consultation asks whether councils should have additional powers giving them discretion to:
charge up to 100% premium (double the full rate) on council tax for second homes
charge more than 100% premium on...More
We wanted to hear your views on what a new National Events Strategy should look like. We asked a series of questions in the consultation paper and held a number of workshops. Your answers to these and more generally feedback from individuals and organisations are helping to inform the final Strategy.
Both the on-line survey and regional engagement workshops led by VisitScotland had a crucial role in providing information on which the analysis was based. All of the...More
Housing to 2040 , Scotland’s first long-term national housing strategy, reaffirmed the Scottish Government’s commitment to review the Housing for Varying Needs design guide. It also contained a commitment to develop and introduce an all-tenure Scottish Accessible Homes Standard, which will be implemented through changes to building standards and guidance from 2025-26.
This consultation sets out proposed updates to Part 1 of the Housing for Varying Needs design guide...More
In February 2021, the Scottish Government established an Independent Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice in Scotland, chaired by Baroness Kennedy QC. The Working Group was tasked with considering how the Scottish criminal justice system deals with misogyny, including looking at whether there are gaps in the law that could be addressed by a specific criminal offence to tackle such behaviour.
The Working Group published its final report in March 2022. That...More
Scotland is a modern, inclusive nation which respects, protects, and fulfils all internationally recognised human rights. We have made great strides in our collective human rights journey and have committed to go further through a new Human Rights Bill that will incorporate international human rights standards already signed and ratified by the UK into domestic law in Scotland.
Embedding international human rights in Scotland will further emphasise the importance of all...More
This consultation seeks views on the Scottish Government’s plans to set a legal minimum number of hours of school education school pupils should receive each year.
Traditionally, Scottish primary schools provide around 25 learning hours per week, and Scottish secondary schools around 27.5 hours per week. However, w hile local authorities are required to have their schools open for 190 days each year, the number of learning hours is not prescribed. Our schools have...More
The Scottish Government are undertaking a review of the National Outcomes. This is a requirement within every five years, under the Community Empowerment Act (2015).
The National Outcomes are laid out in the National Performance Framework. This is Scotland’s wellbeing framework, which sets out the type of Scotland we want to see, and measures progress towards the National Outcomes.
Find out more about the National Outcomes.
We want to know whether the existing National...More
The Scottish Government are undertaking a review of the National Outcomes. This is a requirement within every five years, under the Community Empowerment Act (2015).
The National Outcomes are laid out in the National Performance Framework. This is Scotland’s wellbeing framework, which sets out the type of Scotland we want to see, and measures progress towards the National Outcomes.
Find out more about the National Outcomes.
We want...More
This consultation relates to the 2023 Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for herring in the Firth of Clyde.
Marine Scotland is carrying out this consultation on behalf of the UK Fisheries Administrations, to seek views on the level of the 2023 TAC, to permit the allocation of Clyde herring quota to UK fishermen.
Read the consultation paper
Stakeholder event
We're delighted to hold an open meeting for any stakeholders who wish to discuss the options included in the...More
Following the publication of the Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) Strategy on 1 December 2023, the Scottish Government has gathered evidence on the effectiveness of environmental governance.
The evidence gathered has helped to inform the Report into the Effectiveness of Governance Arrangements, as required by section 41 of the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 .
The content of this consultation is...More
To realise our climate change ambitions, we need to transform the way Scotland generates, transports and uses energy. We must seize the huge opportunity this presents and deliver maximum benefits to Scotland’s people, workers, communities and economy from our vast renewable energy resource.
The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan was published on 10 January 2023 and was open for consultation until 9 May 2023.
As part of the process for developing the Energy Strategy...More
The closing date for responses has been extended to Friday 12 May.
The Scottish Government has committed to developing a strategy to support the international aspirations and potential of Scotland’s culture sector. Through this survey we want to understand views of all interested parties in this work to inform the shape the strategy takes. T he survey is likely to require about 30-45 minutes to complete.
Scotland’s culture sector undoubtedly has a strong...More
The Scottish and UK governments have worked together constructively to develop a Green Freeport model that reflects the unique conditions in Scotland, and ensures businesses, ports and communities across Scotland can benefit from the Green Freeport opportunity.
On 13 January 2023, following a rigorous assessment and selection process, the Scottish and UK governments announced that Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport and Forth Green Freeport had been selected as Green...More
Scotland’s peatlands have a critical role to play in responding to the twin crises of the global climate emergency and loss of biodiversity.
In good condition, peatlands are a significant natural carbon store. They hold around 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon, equivalent to around 145 years’ worth of Scotland’s total net carbon emissions. Covering about a third of our country, peatlands support important ecosystems and biodiversity, improve water quality and reduce flood risk. ...More
The Scottish Government has adopted the internationally recognised Community Wealth Building (CWB) approach to economic development as a key practical means by which progress can be made towards realising our wellbeing economy vision outlined in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET) .
What is Community Wealth Building (CWB) More Information
CWB is an approach designed to tackle long-standing economic challenges and transform...More
Overview
To realise our climate change ambitions, we need to transform the way Scotland generates, transports and uses energy. We must seize the huge opportunity this presents and deliver maximum benefits to Scotland’s people, workers, communities and economy from our vast renewable energy resource.
The draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan sets out the scale of that opportunity and provides clarity on how Scotland will prepare for a just energy transition.
...More
The Scottish Government is seeking views on a proposal put forward by the boards of management of North Highland College (UHI North Highland), West Highland College (UHI West Highland) and Lews Castle College (UHI Outer Hebrides) to merge into a single, incorporated college.
The merging parties have suggested a “host” model, whereby the assets and liabilities of West Highland College and Lews Castle College are transferred to North Highland College to create the...More
The providers of independent health care in Scotland and the UK are many and varied, and the complexity of this area of health care provision continues to increase. The Scottish Government wants all health care provided to people in Scotland to be safe, appropriate and carried out by those with the right qualifications.
To achieve this vision, we need to ensure that independent health care services provided in Scotland are effectively regulated. We want the regulation of independent...More
Adult Disability Payment is the twelfth payment now delivered by Social Security Scotland. It replaces Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Scotland, and it will provide support to over 510,000 disabled people by 2025.
In designing this new payment, we have carefully listened to the views of disabled people, stakeholders, and the public. We have made several improvements to Adult Disability Payment over PIP. These include substantial improvements to the application and...More
The Scottish Government’s vision for the marine environment is for clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas, managed to meet the long term needs of nature and people. Through the Bute House Agreement , Scottish Ministers have committed to designate at least 10% of Scotland’s seas as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs), by 2026. These sites will provide high levels of protection by placing strict limits on some human activities, such as fishing and...More
The Scottish Government wants to make sure that the protections relating to pitch fee uprating for residents of residential mobile homes remain fair, appropriate and in line with development of statistical measures. This is of particular importance in light of recent increases in the cost of living. We are therefore gathering views about a possible change from Retail Prices Index to Consumer Prices Index as the measure for pitch fee uprating under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 and options for...More
This consultation seeks views on proposed legislative amendments to the arrangements for the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS). The proposals seek to amend Schedule 2A of the Land and Buildings Transaction (Scotland) Act 2012 (“the Act”) and insert new Schedule 6A to the Act.
This consultation follows on from the Scottish Government’s call for evidence and views on the ADS.
The call for evidence and views closed on...More
Following a judicial review hearing at the Court of Session, the Court issued a decision in the case of Ola Jasim v Scottish Ministers [2022] CSOH 64 on 9 September 2022.
The Court declared paragraph 1(c)(ii) and (iii) of schedule 1 of the Students’ Allowances (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (“the 2007 Regulations”) (known as ‘long residence rules’) to be unlawful in light of Article 14 of, and Article 2 of the Protocol 1 to, the European Convention on Human Rights.
...More
We want to hear your views on the draft quality standards for adult secondary mental health services. We have asked a series of questions, and your answers to these will help us write the final standards and develop how we measure if these standards are being met.
Read the consultation paper
Read the easy read consultation paper
What are adult secondary mental health services?
Secondary mental health care services are usually services...More