We Asked, You Said, We Did

We asked for views on the proposed introduction of fixed penalty notices for offences under; 

•  The Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, 

• The Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021,  

• The Environmental Protection (Cotton Buds) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 and, 

• The Environmental Protection (Microbeads) Regulations 2018. 

We sought your views on the levels at which we propose these penalties should be set, and asked for any comments in relation to other provisions in the Regulations.  

We received 25 responses to this consultation. Of these, 11 responded as individuals and 14 on behalf of an organisation. Responses were primarily provided by Local Authority Trading Standards.  

An overwhelming majority of responses were supportive of the introduction of fixed penalty notices. Key points raised included extending the payment deadlines for fixed penalty notices, the introduction of an appeal mechanism for retailers if they believe an FPN was issued in error without an impact of the discount for early payment, raising the level of penalties set for fixed penalty notices, the importance of alignment with other UK nations, and the introduction of forfeiture and destruction provisions for single-use vapes supplied in contravention of the Vapes Regulations.  

In response to feedback provided, we made the following changes to the Regulations: 

• Amended the wording to remove the reference to online payments, to enable local authorities to utilise the most appropriate payment method in their area, as not all local authorities have an online payment system. 

• Extended the payment deadlines to 14 days for discounted payments and 28 days for full payments for FPNs under the Vapes Regulations. This brings the deadlines in line with those in the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 (TMPS), which Trading Standards officers (who are also responsible for enforcing these Regulations) are experienced at enforcing and under which FPNs are regularly issued. 

• Included provision for a direction-making power in the Vapes Regulations which will enable the Scottish Ministers to direct that single-use vapes supplied in contravention of the regulations are to be treated as waste and disposed of or treated as appropriate. This brings the Scottish Regulations in line with similar provisions in the other UK vapes regulations. 

We agreed with the importance of alignment across the UK nations with regards to enforcement, and therefore opted to keep the proposed level of penalties as are set out in the draft Regulations. 

The full government consultation response has been published on the gov.scot website: Environmental Protection (Single-Use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 - fixed penalty notice amendment consultation: response  

We asked for views on a minor amendment to road works legislation. We sought views on the proposal to revoke the Scottish Statutory Instrument which accounts for the target cost of operating the Scottish Road Works Register and replace it with a new Regulation to account for the overall running cost in the 2025/26 financial year. The projected running cost for 2025/26 will increase to £1,008,819 from £901,314.

In total, nineteen responses to the consultation were received, primarily from roads authorities.  Seven responses were from individuals, three from statutory undertakers. Brief analysis of these responses is detailed below.

There was strong support for the proposal; sixteen of the nineteen responses gave support for the proposal. Two statutory undertakers and one individual were not content with the agreed cost sharing matrix developed by the Roads Authority and Utility Committee (Scotland).

Of the two undertaker responses in opposition to the proposal, one made no alternate suggestions but commented that road authority activities have largely increased. Whilst there has been increase in noticing of work carried out by road authorities, there was still a continuation of increase in utility works and at present utilities carry out 73% of the works. Another undertaker suggested a new splitting model for future years in addition to opposing the current one. 

The consultation responses have been carefully considered, most of the respondents supported the proposal to replace the 2024 Scottish Statutory Instrument. As a result, we will now revoke the Scottish Statutory Instrument, “The “Scottish Road Works Register (Prescribed Fees) Regulations 2024”, and replace it with a new Regulation as proposed. 

For your views on various parts of the Scottish Pubs Code. Topics covered within the consultation paper included: Market Rent Only leases, guest beer agreements, information for prospective tenants, rent assessment, flow monitoring devices and gaming machines.

The consultation was launched on 17 September 2024, and was a short, targeted consultation drawing upon concerns raised by stakeholders following the making of the Scottish Pubs Code Regulations 2024. The proposals were informed by workshops that were carried out with tenant and pub-owning business representatives.

The consultation closed on 4 November 2024 and asked 20 questions. A total of 21 responses were received from stakeholders and individuals.  16 were from groups or organisations (eight Pub-owning businesses, six Representative bodies and two Campaign groups) and five from individual members of the public.

The Scottish Government’s analysis of the consultation has been published as well as the consultation responses (where permission was granted).

The responses to this consultation will inform proposed Ministerial changes to the Scottish Pubs Code.

The intention is for an amending Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI) to be laid in the Scottish Parliament in January 2025 and, subject to the parliamentary process, for it to come into effect on 31 March 2025. The code will be subject to statutory review, with the first review period ending on 31 March 2026 and further reviews due every 3 years thereafter.

We consulted on our initial proposals for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard between July and October 2024.

We asked for your views on a range of key topics relating to determining the principles for a Scottish equivalent:

• Identifying the components of an equivalent standard.
• Proposals to improve the setting of energy performance and ventilation standards for new buildings, leading to lower energy demand (and reduced running costs) and a healthy indoor environment.
• Proposals to improve assurance that the design intent for energy performance and ventilation standards for new buildings is achieved in practice.
• General topics which are material to the ongoing development of energy and environmental standards set by building regulations.
• The proposed updated programme to deliver the current energy standards review and the commitment on a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard.
• Notes on the proposed amendments of regulations.

Consultation activity ran from 31 July 2024 to 23 October 2024 and received a total of 350 responses. 186 were from organisations and 164 were from individuals. Of the responses received, 64 respondents instructed that their responses should not be published. Of these 64 responses, 25 were from individuals and 39 from organisations.

Accordingly, following final QA checks, 290 consultation responses were published on the consultation page.

Responses represented a range of views and offered useful insight into many aspects of the proposals. The consultation analysis report is now published.

• Determining the principles for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard - Analysis of Consultation Responses - gov.scot

Following review and consideration of responses to the consultation and focussing on items that may require modifications to the Building Regulations to satisfy Mr Rowley’s final Bill proposal, it is our position that only limited changes to regulations are needed to support an outcome, up to and including that delivered through the voluntary Passivhaus Standard.

In respect of how we set performance requirements, the Scottish Government is content that the current regulations and schedule of mandatory standards within The Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 already provide the necessary legislative provisions to give effect to the final proposal for a proposed Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill. The outcome being ‘to introduce new minimum environmental design standards for all new-build housing to meet a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard, in order to improve energy efficiency and thermal performance’.

Changes that are necessary to legislation have been identified and these relate to building standards processes. In particular, the mandating of information needed to demonstrate to verifiers that compliance in both the design and the construction of buildings is being taken forward correctly. We can confirm that regulations amending The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 were laid on 12 December 2024. These introduce a requirement for developers to provide an “energy and environmental design statement” with building warrant applications and an “energy and environmental construction statement” with each completion certificate. These statements will describe how the design and construction of the building complies with paragraphs 3.13, 3.14, 3.28, 6.1 to 6.7, 6.10, 7.1 and 7.2 of schedule 5 of the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004. These are the mandatory standards relevant to the delivery of energy and environmental performance.

Part 1 of the Scottish Government response to the consultation, which covers regulatory amendments, is now published.

• Determining the principles for a Scottish equivalent to the Passivhaus standard - Scottish Government Response Part 1 - Regulatory Changes - gov.scot

Part 2 of the Scottish Government response to the consultation will follow in January 2025.

Next Steps

The July 2024 consultation proposed an implementation date of 2028 for the new standards and there was widespread support for this. To enable the construction sector to prepare for the changes an implementation date of 31 March 2028 was set out in the regulatory amendments.

We will continue to work with the Working Group and wider industry stakeholders through 2025, informed by response to this consultation, to agree and develop the detail of changes to how we set energy and environmental standards for new buildings with the aim to publish revised standards in early 2026.

Regulatory amendments

Amendment to regulations are published here: The Building (Procedure) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024

We asked for views on the use of ‘apparatus plans’ and held a public consultation which was open for 12 weeks from 11 July 2024. There was also an additional three questions on the ‘Street Works Qualification’ regime.

In total 53 responses to the consultation were received: twenty-four came from current managerial/supervisory staff working within the industry. In terms of operatives, individuals working for both utility firms, roads authorities and their supply chain provided responses. There were also three responses from organisations responsible for setting best practice, the direct provision of plans (“others”), or informing policy making, including Scotland’s regulator of road works, the Scottish Road Works Commissioner. One response was received after the deadline but has been included in the analysis in the interests of representing as wide a set of views as possible.

We are grateful to everyone who took time to share their views and provide a response to this consultation. The consultation analysis report can be found here.

All responses have been fully considered. We will now use the responses to inform a proposed supporting SSI that prescribes the data set that should be supplied to Vault.

We sought views on updates to the International Territorial Level boundaires for Scotland. The International Territorial Levels (ITLs) are geographic boundaries used in the production of statistics in the United Kingdom.

The consultation received 21 responses. 11 responses were received from organisations, and 10 from individuals. Overall the proposals received support, although we received a small number of objections in relation to how the islands of Arran and Cumbrae should be grouped.

We published recommendation to the Office for National Statistics based on the responses we received. These recommendations were implemented by the Office for National Statistics.

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the proposals, which ran for 12 weeks from 17 June until 20 September 2024. The consultation sought views on the proposals to inform decision-making and to establish whether these proposals were seen as the right changes to take forward through an affirmative statutory instrument.

A total of 24 written responses were received and of these 7 were from individuals; and 17 were from organisations.

All responses to the consultation were analysed and themes identified.

Given our consultation analysis, the Scottish Government will be proceeding with plans to bring forward subordinate legislation to:

• Dissolve the GCRB, the Regional Strategic Body for the Glasgow college region;
• Remove the designation of New College Lanarkshire   as the Regional Strategic Body for the Lanarkshire college region; and
• Designate each of the Glasgow and Lanarkshire colleges as “regional colleges”.

Subject to the Parliamentary process, we expect the new arrangements to be in place for the start of academic year 25-26.

 

The Scottish Government ran the post-school education and skills reform consultation on legislation for just over 12 weeks from 25 June to 20 September 2024.  The consultation sought views on three proposals to simplify responsibilities for apprenticeships and student support.  

The consultation also asked questions about how the Scottish Funding Council’s governance may need to evolve in response to the proposed expansion to its remit, in particular how it would ensure that employers’ views informed decision making.  Finally, the consultation also sought views on enhanced functions for the Scottish Funding Council, not least so it can receive the right information from funded organisations who provide post-school education and skills training.

In total, 194 consultation responses were received, comprising 133 responses from organisations and 61 from individuals. 

Consultation responses have now been independently analysed and the analysis report has been published.  All responses have been published where permission was granted and can be found on the consultation page.

The Scottish Government is grateful to those who took the time to provide a response to this consultation. We are carefully considering the responses and analysis report to help inform development of the Post-School Education Reform Bill announced in the Programme for Government 2024-25 on 4 September 2024.  

We sought views on the fee proposals for the operation of the two new registers introduced by the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Act 2023 - the Register of Assignations (“RoA”) and the Register of Statutory Pledges (“RSP”). The consultation opened on the 8 July 2024 and closed on 16 September 2024.

There were 14 responses to the consultation from individuals (21%) and organisations (79%).

An overwhelming majority of respondents (86%) were either dissatisfied or strongly dissatisfied by the consultation’s key proposals regarding RoA and RSP registration fees, with respondents’ viewing these as prohibitively high and excessive to the extent that the legal reforms intended by the Act could be negatively impacted.  

Additionally, over half of the respondents identified that the proposal for an £80 registration fee to be charged for each statutory pledge would compound the negative effect of what was already considered to be an excessive fee by charging for each individual statutory pledge (over individual assets or groups of assets) contained within a single document  - in other words, a “reduced fee for multiples” fee model was required for the RSP. 

The consultation’s registration fee proposals were based on cost-recovery, with registration volumes being estimated from detailed user research undertaken with a wide range of stakeholders, industry experts and academics over several years. Despite this level of engagement, it proved extremely difficult for Registers of Scotland (RoS) to obtain accurate estimates of volumes for the new registers. Accordingly, the RoS estimates of volumes which informed the proposed registration fees were necessarily cautious.

 The consultation responses indicated that the consultation had the effect of focussing the minds of stakeholders, particularly around the requirement for a “reduced fee for multiples” fee model for the RSP.  This prompted further engagement with stakeholders, including with a majority of consultation respondents, and that allowed more informed assumptions on likely usage for the new registers to be developed.

We sought views on the proposed river gradings for the 2025 salmon fishing season, as well as proposals to reinstate the Annan early rod season. The consultation opened on the 7 August and closed on 6 September 2024.

There were 37 responses submitted to the consultation which consisted of those from individuals (51%) and organisations (49%). A small proportion of respondents (19%) agreed with the proposed gradings for the 2025 salmon fishing season, 30% objected and the remainder did not express a specific view for or against the gradings. A number of respondents (35%) indicated that they believed the proposed grade assigned to a specific river was incorrect and should be changed.

Over a third (38%) of respondents agreed with the proposed amendment to reinstate the Annan early rod season and the remainder did not express a specific view for or against the amendment.

The views given on the proposed river gradings have been used to inform the process of finalising the gradings for the 2025 salmon fishing season.

The views given on the Annan early rod season have been used inform the decision taken.

Both of these will be used in the annual amendment to The Conservation of Salmon (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

We asked for your views on proposals for Crofting Law Reform.  The consultation covered potential legislative changes to support entry to crofting, to clarify the community aspect of crofting law, to promote use of common grazings, to strengthen adherence to crofters’ duties, to modify the Crofting Commission’s regulatory roles and powers, and to make simplifications and corrections to current legislation.

The consultation opened on 6 June 2024 and closed on 2 September 2024.

163 responses were received across the 3-month consultation period.  Of that, 136 responses (83%) were from individuals, and 27 (17%) were organisational responses. 

In addition, 257 people attended our 15 consultation events across the crofting counties in July and August, when the key proposals in the consultation were aired and debated.

Most of the Government’s proposals were well supported by the consultation responses, but some proposals divided opinion.  Many respondents made use of the free text boxes to give reasons for their views and to make a variety of additional suggestions.  Some respondents said that the proposals did not go far enough, and called for a more fundamental package of crofting reforms to be developed.

We are grateful to everyone who took time to share their views and provide a response to this consultation.

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government (PfG) 2023-2024 announced our commitment to develop and consult on proposals to reform crofting law, and our PfG 2024-25 announced our commitment to analyse and publish the consultation responses, and to bring forward legislation.

The Scottish Government commissioned The Lines Between to undertake an independent, impartial analysis of the responses to the consultation, including the points made in the 15 consultation events.  This analysis was published on 15 November 2024, along with the responses themselves (where permission to publish was given).

We are carefully considering what we have heard during the consultation process to help inform development of the Crofting Bill, and are having further discussions with key stakeholders including the Crofting Commission and other members of the Crofting Bill Group and the Crofting Stakeholder Forum.

The Flood Resilience Strategy consultation ran between 20 May and 13 August 2024.

We asked for your views to help us develop the Flood Resilience Strategy. Part of Scotland’s National Adaptation Plan, the Strategy focuses on what Scotland needs to do to make our communities more flood resilient over the coming decades as our climate changes.

We sought your views on the key guiding principles and how actions centred on our people, places and processes can contribute to Scotland’s flood resilience.

The Scottish Government would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide a response to the consultation.

A total of 198 responses to the consultation was received, with 87 from groups or organisations and 111 from individual members of the public.

There was broad support for the guiding principles and the need to think more holistically about all the things that can be done to make our places more flood resilient.

Responses supported going beyond thinking about flood protection as the only solution. You recognised that we can’t protect everywhere indefinitely and that all opportunities to reduce our flood exposure, and to lessen the impacts when it does happen, should be explored.

You shared your views on how our people can help us become more flood resilient.

• You would like to see genuine collaboration between communities and relevant authorities when flood resilience is being considered.
• You would like to see people being more involved in all stages of flood resilience planning for their places and communities being given a real voice in decision making.
• You also recognised that for this to come about, improved data, information and support for communities would be required.

You shared your views on how our places can help us become more flood resilient.

• You communicated the importance of taking a placemaking approach accompanied by a robust planning regime to ensure flood exposure is considered from the beginning, in terms of both where and how to build.
• You emphasised that we should be avoiding development in flood prone areas.
• You supported making space for water in rural and urban areas and communicated that we should be using our land more to help us reduce the impact of floods both through natural flood management and the use of blue and green infrastructure.
• You also supported the need for long-term transition planning for our most exposed communities where it may not be possible to maintain a level of flood resilience indefinitely.

You shared your views on how our processes can help us become more flood resilient. How we can make changes to the way we do things and the way we work together to enable us to create flood resilient places.

• You highlighted the need for processes to support community involvement. This included providing communities with the information, advice and support to enable them to become involved in flood resilience decision making for their places.
• You communicated the value of networking and of sharing experiences, best practice, innovative solutions and case studies and the need for a single online access point for information, guidance and technical support.
• You highlighted a need to improve efficiency, consistency and value in delivering flood actions and communicated that this could be delivered through a single, national service.

A comprehensive, independent analysis of responses to this consultation was undertaken by Craigforth, a social research company. The report is now published on Gov.Scot. Where permission to publish has been provided, individual and organisational consultation responses are also available to view.

The responses to this consultation have directly informed policy development for the Flood Resilience Strategy for the three themes of People, Places and Processes including identifying six priority areas for action:

• Establishing a flood advisory service
• Involving and supporting communities
• Supporting a broader range of flood actions
• Improving land-use for flood mitigation
• Improving awareness and decision making through data
• Supporting long-term transition planning for communities at highest risk

The Scottish Government published the Flood Resilience Strategy in December 2024 informed by the findings of this consultation, a suite of impact assessments and the stakeholder engagement sessions carried out in 2023-24.

We sought views on what you like to do in your free time, what stops you from doing that, and asking what do culture and creativity mean to you. The survey opened on 8th July 2024 and closed on 2nd August 2024.

We received 504 survey responses, with representation across every local authority area in Scotland. The responses were mainly from individuals but included a small number (fewer than 14) from organisations.

Respondents were unanimously positive about the role that culture and creativity play in their life. The variety of responses highlight the way that culture and creativity are a major part in people’s expression and identity, with a strong link to social connections and wellbeing. While cultural engagement is related to people’s choices, interests and preferences, there are barriers for some groups. Cost, accessibility and infrastructure are three major challenges.

All survey responses were read and analysed by researchers, who produced a report: Cultural engagement in Scotland: insights from people's experiences. This report captures the different views with analysis of the main issues raised, and includes direct quotes from survey respondents.

This research has important implications. It underscores the need to ensure the approach to culture includes the everyday, the emerging, the established and the more formal, and that cultural events and programmes meet the needs and interests of different population groups.

What the impacts were of the measures put in place for UEFA EURO 2020, which took place in 2021.

 

How the measures that are likely required by UEFA for EURO 2028 could affect businesses.

 

What kinds of measures and exemptions would be most appropriate.

In summary, there was general support for the proposed measures to protect commercial rights for EURO 2028. The most common view was that there would not be a noticeable impact on respondents. Benefits to consumers were often noted. Planning and communication to help people prepare for, and mitigate adverse impacts, were encouraged.

 

Key themes raised by respondents included:

 

Street Trading

 

The most common view was there had been no or little impact from the street trading restrictions for EURO 2020. Similarly for EURO 2028 the most common theme was there would be no or little impact.

 

A few respondents highlighted potential impacts on businesses. This included the need to provide information and guidance on the measures or having to relocate temporarily.

 

Potential positive impacts were also mentioned. These included minimised unauthorised trading and improved consumer rights and confidence.

 

There was no consensus as to whether any exemptions or other measures should be applied to help manage adverse impacts of street trading.

 

More broadly, respondents called for advance planning to help businesses prepare for EURO 2028.

 

Other comments included one call for the restrictions to apply to pedlar certificates too. This was due to a rise in issues related with these.

 

 

 

 

Advertising

 

Fewer respondents were aware of advertising restrictions for EURO 2020 than for street trading restrictions.

 

Again, the main view was that these same measures would have no impact for EURO 2028. Impacts on businesses, such as restricting their ability to advertise, was the second most common theme.

 

Just over half of respondents did not feel there were appropriate exemptions or other measures that should be applied.

 

There were some calls not to apply advertising restrictions to charities or community groups.

 

Ticketing

 

The most common view was that ticket touting laws for EURO 2020 had no impact on respondents. Respondents were most likely to feel the same would be the case if similar laws are used for EURO 2028.

 

Some respondents highlighted positive impacts for visitors arising from the ticketing proposals. This included visitors having less contact with ticket touts or inadvertently buying unauthorised tickets.

 

Some suggested exemptions. This included tickets sold for charitable purposes.

 

There were mixed views around which level of penalty was most appropriate. Most commonly there was uncertainty around the level that would be appropriate. Higher penalties were more likely to be supported than lower ones. Some felt the penalty should be proportionate to the situation or amount made by ticket touts. A few felt the penalty should be publicised and act as a deterrent.

 

Community impacts

 

A range of other community impacts were highlighted beyond the scope of the proposed legislation. These included:

 

• the most common theme was that EURO 2028 may impact vulnerable people or disabled people. One organisation noted these groups were more likely to be the target of scams;

• the impact on communities of littering and noise during EURO 2028;
• over-crowding and the impact this has on aspects like commuting to work for communities; and
• parking issues for residents or their carers

 

Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

 

One organisation called for greater clarity about the proposals. This was because it was difficult to give a clear response until the “location, proximity or duration” of restrictions were known. They called for further consultation once these had been identified. This organisation also preferred Option 3 of the BRIA – bespoke EURO 2028 legislation that was proportionate and limited. This was also the Scottish Government’s preferred option.

 

Another organisation felt the BRIA was useful in contextualising the proposals. They also highlighted the importance of maintaining consumer trust.

 

Other views

 

There was a call from an events organisation for the principals of the legislation to apply to all mass gatherings including music events. This view was shared by an individual who felt existing, as well as new and one-off events, should be supported. This was due to the wide-ranging positive impacts on Scotland of events.

 

In terms of street trading, there were concerns around the negative impact poor quality goods have on the consumer experience. There was a call for strengthened consumer rights to help address this. One individual felt the proposals would mean less choice for the consumer, though did not expand on why they thought this.

 

There were also concerns about the loss of business to those with premises in and around event zones or who advertise in these areas. It was highlighted that sometimes local businesses do not benefit from events like EURO 2028 with most benefits being felt by those in city centre locations.

 

In relation to the broader regulatory context of events in Scotland, there were calls for more preparatory work. This included engaging with and providing information to stakeholders and groups that may be affected. It also included reviewing legislation around the governance of events to make sure it is fit for purpose.

The Scottish Government is grateful to those who took the time to write a response to the UEFA EURO 2028: commercial rights protection – public consultation. We are also grateful to those who came to the supporting virtual and in person events. We would like to thank the partners who supported the public consultation, in particular Glasgow City Council and Glasgow Life.

 

There were 26 responses to the consultation. The Lines Between has analysed the consultation responses. This is now available. Individual and organisation responses are also available where permission has been given.

 

The need for effective communications to under-pin the proposed legislation has come through strongly in the public consultation. Glasgow City Council will lead on a Communication Plan to help ensure that those potentially affected by any commercial rights protection legislation for EURO 2028 have access to all the information they need as early as possible. This will include guidance for street traders and pedlars in accessible formats.

 

There were calls for exemptions to the proposed legislation, including for charities. We are considering whether these – and any other exemptions – might be applied to the proposed legislation for EURO 2028.

 

There were mixed views on the level of fine for ticketing touting. We continue to work with lead partners to explore the pros and cons of an increased fine for this offence during EURO 2028.

 

The need to consider pedlars came across in the consultation. It also came up in related engagement with lead bodies. This is being factored into development of street trading restrictions.

 

Community impacts of EURO 2028 were highlighted. This included on vulnerable groups, such as older or isolated people, or disabled people. One organisation noted these groups were more likely to be the target of scams. We have also heard the concerns raised on littering, anti-social behaviour and traffic management issues. These are important points but they are beyond the scope of the proposed legislation. We have therefore highlighted these issues to the relevant authorities for further consideration.

 

Scotland’s National Events Strategy 2024-2035 aims to build on the events industry’s many achievements to date. The refreshed strategy aims to provide a strategic focus for all those involved in planning, securing, supporting, and delivering events of all sizes in Scotland. Under the priority theme of quality planning and delivery the Strategy also identifies a potential action to further examine and develop the future regulatory context for events to support an optimal environment for the delivery of this strategy, taking into account best practice from around the world. Relevant feedback from this consultation will inform the detailed action plan for the strategy that is being developed. This will regularly be monitored by the Event Industry Advisory Group.

 

The UK Government is launching a consultation in the autumn to explore options for introducing new consumer protections in relation to ticket resales. The Scottish Government continues to liaise closely with lead UK Government Departments on how issues in the ticket resale market can be tackled effectively across the UK including any legislative considerations.

 

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government 2024-25 was published on 4 September 2024. This included a Bill to put in place commercial rights protections to meet UEFA’s requirements for hosting EURO 2028 matches in Scotland.

 

The analysis of all responses to the consultation have been carefully considered. Scottish Ministers will take these views into account in their decision-making.

 What is your view on the proposed TAC level for Clyde herring in 2024?

A range of responses were recieved, as can be found in the outcome report.

Having considered the best available scientific information, the wider obligations and analysed all responses submitted through the consultation process, the TAC for 2024 has been recommended to the UK Secretary of State at 583 tonnes. This is a rollover of the 2023 TAC and retains the existing management measures.

We asked for your views on increasing court fees in Scotland. 

23 responses from individuals and organisations were received. A list of published responses can be found in the Published Responses section below.

An analysis of the consultation and response from the Scottish Government will be published shortly. The Scottish Government intends to implement the proposals set out in the consultation. We have taken all of the comments and suggestions made as a result of the public consultation into consideration when preparing the Scottish Statutory Instruments which have been drafted in order to implement the fee increases.

The public consultation sought views on a range of proposals to support improvement in the delivery of planning services, including smarter ways of working, getting more people to consider a career in planning and alternative approaches to financing.

140 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders, of which 113 were from groups or organisations and 27 were from individual members of the public.

View a summary of responses to the consultation. 

Where permission to publish has been provided, the consultation responses are now available to view online.

We are currently considering the responses to the consultation and will provide an update on next steps when the Scottish Parliament returns after recess.

We asked for views on:

• what it would mean if the fee waiver for volunteers in the PVG Scheme moved to a discount
• introducing a discount for people with experience of care
• introducing a discount for people in receipt of certain benefits
• the fee level for accredited bodies (organisations) receiving disclosure, and
• any other comments on the impact of changes to Disclosure Scotland’s fees.

Most of the 1236 responses recieved related to the consultation on the future of the fee waiver for volunteers in qualifying voluntary organisations.

There was a high level of opposition to the proposal to move from a full fee waiver to a discount for volunteers in Qualifying Voluntary Organisations. The current pressures on charity budgets and increasing costs across the board were raised. People who answered questions on discounting for people in receipt of certain benefits were generally supportive but there was a significant group opposed, and concerns expressed about practical implementation. Issues with practical implementation was similar for proposals to discount PVG scheme membership for young people with experience of care.

An inflationary increase for accredited body registration fees did not attract any new themes or issues against previous consultation on this topic. Raising fees is not generally popular, however there was a significant level of understanding that fees had been frozen since 2011 and some increase was required and expected.

We will continue to provide free Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme membership to volunteers in qualifying voluntary organisations. This decision recognises the vital role volunteers play in Scotland’s society with roles in care, health, sports, community and children’s recreational activities.

On 1 April 2025, the fee for accredited bodies annual subscriptions will increase from the current level for registered bodies to £125. This is in line with the inflationary increase from 2011. We will keep this fee level under review to avoid high single year increases in the future.

In 2025, no new discounting will be introduced. However, further work will be undertaken on what support is needed for people with experience of care within the disclosure system. 

For your thoughts on our proposals for regulations to enable amendments to the development plan – both the National Planning Framework (NPF) and Local Development Plans (LDPs).

Positive and constructive feedback was received for each part of the proposed regulations. 

We have taken account of all the responses received and are using these to inform the development of the final regulations and accompanying guidance. Our summary report following your feedback is now available. 

The public consultation sought views on the proposed regulations on the procedures to prepare Masterplan Consent Areas (MCAs).

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 establishes the principles for establishing MCAs, but regulations are required to set out the detailed procedures to enable planning authorities to use this new consenting mechanism. MCAs will allow planning authorities to take a place leadership role, by proactively consenting the type and quality of development they wish to see in their places.  

The consultation set out the proposed procedures and included two sets of regulations: the first covering the main process for making MCA schemes and secondly separate regulations covering Environmental Impact Assessment provisions for MCAs.

62 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders, of which 57 were from groups or organisations and 5 were from individual members of the public. Respondents were generally supportive of the proposed regulations and there was broad agreement that the regulations should be kept to the minimum necessary.

View a summary of responses to the consultation. 

Where permission to publish has been provided, the consultation responses are now available to view online. We took account of the responses, which have informed the development of the final regulations.