We Asked, You Said, We Did

We sought your views on the proposal for the Scottish Government to seek the Parliament’s approval to extend the duration of Part 2 Order Making Powers in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 for a further five year period from June 2025 to June 2030.  The consultation opened on 16 December 2024 and closed on 10 February 2025.

You provided us with 21 responses to the questions in our consultation. The responses came in from 15 organisations and six individuals.

With regards to the proposal to seek Parliament's approval to extend the Part 2 Order Making Powers for a further five years, our analysis of the responses found that 16 were in agreement, four opposed and one was neutral with no response given.

We published the responses to the consultation on Citizen Space, where permission has been given to do this.

We also published a consultation analysis report on the Scottish Government website.

As the responses received clearly support the proposal to seek Parliament’s approval to extend the order making powers for a further five year period, we took the necessary action to allow Parliament to consider and scrutinise the request to extend the powers. The Minister for Public Finance gave evidence in relation to this at the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 11 March 2025, where the committee approved the motion to extend these powers. Parliament approved them on 26 March 2025. The Minister for Public Finance signed the SSI (Scottish Statutory Instrument) on 27 March 2025 and this will take effect from June 2025. 

We asked for your views on a set of draft regulations to transfer the Police Appeals Tribunal (PAT) into the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. The consultation asked ten questions around various proposals regarding the transfer of the PAT. The questions asked were a mix of open and closed questions. The consultation opened on 30 October 2024 and ran until 22 January 2025.

There were seven responses to the consultation. Six (86%) came from organisations and one (14%) came from an individual. There was strong support for some of the proposals such as the procedure for the notice of appeal to be submitted followed by a reply from the respondent and for the routes of onward appeal from the PAT. There was broad support offered for proposals around the potential payment of expenses and the publication of decisions. Respondents to these questions agreed with these proposals but suggested that matters such as the circumstances of each case and data privacy concerns should be important considerations.

There was mixed support for the proposed membership of the PAT. Three responses were in favour of maintaining the current membership arrangements of three legal members while three responses felt there should be members with policing and lay experience.

The response to the open questions gave helpful feedback on some of the technical provisions within the draft regulations or made more general suggestions around clarifying certain procedure rules and the effect of recent primary legislation. There was also support for some of the general practices of the First-tier Tribunal, for example, the role of supporters, being included in the Procedure Rules.

The views given on the proposed draft regulations will be used to inform the process of finalising the set of draft regulations regarding the transfer of the PAT. We will consider carefully all of the points raised when finalising the draft regulations.

We are grateful for the detailed responses to many of the questions and would like to thank everyone who responded. We have published the nonconfidential responses to the consultation (see links below).

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

The full government consultation response has been published on the gov.scot website: Police Appeals Tribunal - transfer to First-tier Tribunal for Scotland: consultation analysis and response.

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. 

The public consultation sought views on proposals to extend marine planning zone boundaries to resolve an existing gap in aquaculture planning regulations.

53 responses were received from a wide range of stakeholders, of which 29 were from groups or organisations and 27 were from individual members of the public.

A number of respondents who agreed with the proposals commented that they would close a regulatory gap, ensure developments were appropriately assessed under existing regulations and allow farms to be located further from the shore in line with developments in aquaculture equipment technology.

A number of issues were raised both by respondents who disagreed with the proposals and those who agreed. The points raised were wide ranging, but some key themes emerged including concerns regarding regulators capacity,  the assessment of proposed developments and impacts on other marine users.

View the consultation analysis report

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

Following careful consideration of all the responses received, Scottish Ministers have decided to bring forward a Scottish Statutory Instrument to extend marine planning zone boundaries as proposed in the consultation paper.

We consulted on the investigative powers for the Scottish Pubs Code Adjudicator under the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021, suggesting criteria for investigation, enforcement and financial penalties. 

Feedback included the formality of the investigation process, the costs of the process and their potential impact on the sector, ensuring fair treatment between businesses of different sizes in the sector, and the initial and upper limits for financial penalties.

We will consider this feedback in developing and publishing an investigation policy in advance of the commencement of the investigation and enforcement provisions in the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Act 2021. 

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 asked for your views on proposals for children’s hearings redesign.  The consultation focussed on potential legislative changes required to redesign Scotland’s children’s hearings system to build on its strengths so that it can deliver the best possible experience to the children and families in need of its support.

The consultation opened on 26 July 2024 and closed on 28 October 2024.

105 responses were received across the 13 week consultation period.  Of those 105 responses, 56% were from organisations, and 44% were from individuals. The consultation was supported by a series of online and in person engagement events throughout August, September and October which reached over 500 people.

The wide ranging responses to the consultation and the lack of consensus between many respondents on several of the areas in the consultation reflects the fine balance and interaction between the various sensitive issues at play and the complexity of redesigning the children’s hearings system. 

The Scottish Government commissioned The Children and Young People's Centre for Justice (CYCJ) to undertake an independent, impartial analysis of the responses to the consultation.  This analysis was published in early 2025, the responses themselves will also be published (where permission to publish was given).

We are carefully considering what we have heard during the consultation process to help inform development of future legislation and practice and will continue to engage with key stakeholders along with representatives of those with lived and living experience of the children’s hearings system in Scotland. 

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 early 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

The consultation aimed to gather views on modernising the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, with a particular focus on:

• Improving access to justice for adults affected by the AWI Act
• Shifting the focus of the AWI Act to one that truly centres on the adult
• Enabling adults to access rights more easily
• Ensuring adults are supported to make and act upon their own decisions for as long as possible
• Ensuring that when an adult cannot make their own decisions despite support, that their will and preferences are followed unless doing so would be to the overall detriment of the adult
• Setting out proposals for reform concerning authority for research

Whilst it was clear from the consultation responses that there is strong support to modernise the AWI legislation, risks relating to European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) non-compliance in relation to deprivation of liberty cases emerged.

Specific concerns were also raised in relation to resourcing AWI practice, the need for greater awareness and access to independent advocacy and a need for a more granular level of detailed to be provided to allow fuller consideration of reform proposals.

We concluded that there is the need for a more detailed approach to be developed to ensure we can bring forward solutions consistent with ECHR legislation and that further work must be prioritised ahead of bringing forward a Bill in this area. 

Between 19 August and 14 October 2024, the Scottish Government consulted on proposed fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In total, management measures for 20 MPAs were consulted on, with 15 of these sites having two options proposed (either zonal or full site closure) and the other five only having one option proposed (full site closure). Views were also sought on a proposed amendment to the boundary of the West of Scotland MPA. 

Additionally, the consultation asked for views on a range of supporting documents, including Sustainability Appraisal (SA), draft Fisheries Assessments, Strategic Environmental Report (SEA), Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA), partial Business and Regulatory Impact Assessments (BRIAs) and partial Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA). 

The consultation included a mix of closed and open-ended questions. 

In total, the consultation received 3,881 valid responses, with 97% submitted by individuals and 3% by organisations. Campaign responses accounted for 95% of submissions. 

Responses to the consultation revealed a fundamental divide between advocates of conservation and industry stakeholders when it came to proposals for zonal or full site measures. 

Respondents preferring zonal measures argued that these approaches were informed by extensive stakeholder collaboration and designed to balance environmental objectives with the continuation of fishing activities. This approach was also viewed as vital for maintaining economic resilience and food security.  

However, critics of zonal measures warned of potential fragmentation in protection, arguing that leaving certain ecological features unprotected could compromise conservation goals and fail to adequately address the pressures on sensitive habitats and species. 

Advocates for full site measures stressed the necessity of comprehensive protection to restore ecosystems to favourable conservation status. These respondents argued that full site approaches better align with international conservation obligations and enhance resilience to climate change by preserving biodiversity. 

Regarding the proposed boundary amendment to the West of Scotland MPA, half of respondents (50%) were in favour with only 10% expressing opposition. The remaining 40% of respondents expressed neutrality. 

In relation to the supporting documents many respondents urged for a more balanced set of assessments, incorporating comprehensive cost-benefit analyses and long term ecosystem considerations. They wanted more emphasis on economic benefits of measures and a greater consideration given to potential displacement impacts of fishing activity. In relation to the SEA, some respondents expressed approval that it provided a good summary and, due to the current lack of benchmark evidence, it is useful for future reference as a point of comparison. 

The Scottish Government is grateful to everyone who engaged with and provided a response to this consultation. Responses have been collated and analysed to produce the consultation analysis report which was published on 31 January 2025. The report is available to read online: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): consultation analysis. 

The key findings from this report will be taken into account when decisions on management measures and the West of Scotland MPA boundary are made later this year. The intention is for relevant Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSIs) to be laid in the Scottish Parliament and, subject to the parliamentary process, for these to come into effect in 2025. 

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.

Data Zones and Intermediate Zones are small area geographies used in the production of official statistics in Scotland. They were first introduced in 2004 and revised in 2014. The purpose of this consultation was to seek feedback from users on proposals to update these geographies to ensure that they remain fit for purpose.

We received responses from users across Scotland, including local authorities and other users. These responses made suggestions for how our proposed boundaries could be improved to better reflect local communities.

As a result of the feeedback we received we made a number of amendments to our proposed boundaries for Data Zones and Intermediate Zones. These were published in December 2024. You can find out more about the updated Data Zones and Intermediate Zones on the Scottish Government website.

We held a public consultation on media reporting on child homicide victims between 9 July 2024 and 1 October 2024

In the consultation we asked for views on a range of possible approaches - both legislative and non-legislative - to reducing the trauma that media reporting can have on bereaved families, and on the wider impacts those approaches might have.

The purpose of the consultation was to gather views so that next steps could be informed by a wide range of insights and experiences.

There were 46 responses to the consultation. Of these almost two-thirds (30) were received from groups/organisations and one third (16) were received from individuals. The largest category of respondent was media organisations, who submitted 11 of the responses.

Overall, throughout the consultation there was a general split in opinion between media organisations, and individuals who have been bereaved and victim support organisations. Respondents’ views were particularly polarised on whether legislating for anonymity was the appropriate action to take, and none of the four options set out in the consultation paper was supported by a majority of respondents.

The analysis of the responses received can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911937

An easy read summary of the main findings is available at: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836912484

We would like to thank all those who have taken the time to share their views and experiences, those who have been bereaved in particular.

We published an analysis of the consultation responses on 24 February 2025, it is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911937 

An easy read summary of the main findings of the analysis is available at www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836912484

NEXT STEPS

We do not intend to bring forward any legislation in this area.

The consultation has made clear that there would be serious complexities with developing legislation that avoided unintended consequences; that struck a robust balance between privacy rights and freedom of expression; and that could be enforced in practice.

However, many of the experiences highlighted in consultation responses vividly illustrate the need for more sensitive reporting on these cases. We therefore intend to work with stakeholders on the following non-legislative measures:

• Media guidance – the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the development of dedicated guidance for the media on sensitive reporting on child homicide cases, with a view to it being developed as a collaboration between victim support organisations and media representatives.
• Training - We are exploring the potential for journalism courses, newsrooms or regulators to offer bespoke training for journalists. We are also in discussion with justice partners about other work that could help in this area, including specialist training and guidance.
• Support materials for families - Victim Support Scotland, through its specialist service for families bereaved by crime, provides support and guidance for bereaved families on what to expect in terms of engagement with, and coverage by, the media. We are working with them on building this resource for wider use, such as guidance to support families in navigating the media interest in - and coverage of - the case, and to provide information on their rights throughout the criminal justice process.
• Further support for families - We are engaging closely with Victim Support Scotland to explore whether there are other practical interventions that would directly support affected families.

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.

In March 2018, the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) published a report and a draft Bill on a review of contract law which was the final output of a reform project that began in 2010.  The recommendations include a statutory statement of the law in relation to formation of contracts, the abolition of the postal acceptance rule and some reshaping of aspects of the law in relation to remedies for breach of contract.

It has, though, been 6 years since the recommendations on contract law were published and the Scottish Government sought views on whether the landscape around this area of the law has changed since then and, if so, whether the changes are material to the recommendations contained in the Report.  The Scottish Government also sought to test whether the views received by the SLC are still broadly held.

The Scottish Government’s consultation opened on 8 July 2024 and ran for 12 weeks.  A total of 9 responses were received.  Two respondents withheld their personal information and of the other 7, two were individuals and the remaining 5 were a mix of legal firms, a local authority, a group of academics, or other organisation.

An analysis of these responses can be found below.

Overall, the majority of respondents expressed continued support for the recommendations of the SLC and were not aware of material developments in the law or practice that require those recommendations to be revisited.

The sole exception is the law of retention, on which the Scottish Government has published a targeted consultation (here) in order to test the views of relevant stakeholders.

The Scottish Government’s intention is to continue work to implement these proposals, although this will be dependent on future work priorities and legislative activity.

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.