Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee [Draft]

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Official Report 587KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 [Draft]

Good morning, and welcome to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee’s 33rd meeting in 2020. Everyone should ensure that mobile phones are on silent. The meeting will be conducted in hybrid format with some members participating remotely. We have apologies from Oliver Mundell; Jamie Halcro Johnston is attending as a committee substitute.

The first item of business is subordinate legislation and the consideration of one affirmative instrument. The committee will take evidence on the draft Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The motion seeking the approval of the affirmative instrument will be considered at item 2. Members should note that there have been no representations to the committee on the instrument.

Before I welcome colleagues from the Scottish Government to the meeting, would any members like to declare any interests?

Given today’s agenda, particularly items 1 and 2 and part of item 4, I am obliged to declare that I own a private residence and two non-domestic properties in the Western Isles. I derive no income from those properties.

I am a partner in an agricultural business in Orkney and I own property in the islands.

I welcome the panel from the Scottish Government: Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands; Erica Clarkson, head of islands and rural communities at the directorate for agriculture and the rural economy; Paul Maxton, island communities impact assessments lead at the directorate for agriculture and the rural economy; and Jill Turnbull, from the legal directorate. The minister will make a brief opening statement.

I am pleased to be here today for the consideration of the draft Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The draft regulations make provision under section 9(1) of the Islands (Scotland) (Act) 2018 for reviews of decisions by relevant authorities relating to island communities impact assessments under section 8(1) of the 2018 act. They also introduce a requirement for publication of island communities impact assessments by the relevant authorities under section 30(1) of the 2018 act.

Separately, the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 (Commencement No 3) Regulations 2020 will bring into force sections 7 to 10, 11(1) and 12 to 14 of the 2018 act. The commencement regulations are not subject to parliamentary procedure and are not being considered by the committee today.

Section 9(2) of the 2018 act sets out the specific features that may be included in the review provisions. If approved, the regulations will create provision for reviews that satisfy the requirements of the 2018 act.

The regulations are innovative. No other Scottish Government impact assessment process, such as equality impact assessments, has a review procedure.

The committee will be familiar with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018. It introduced the public sector duty requiring listed relevant authorities to prepare an island communities impact assessment in relation to any policy, strategy, or service that, in the authority’s opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community that is significantly different from its effect on other communities, including on other island communities, in the area in which the authority exercises its functions. As indicated, the commencement regulations will bring that duty into force.

It is worth noting that in the absence of the section 8(1) duty being in force, it has been the expectation that, where possible, the Scottish Government should operate in the spirit of the 2018 act and take island issues into account when developing or reviewing policies, strategies or services.

The regulations will empower island communities to seek a review of decisions made by relevant authorities in relation to island communities impact assessments. The regulations provide a robust and proportionate framework for the review of decisions relating to island communities impact assessments that is based on transparency and accountability.

Finally, although 2018 act makes no provision for guidance to accompany the regulations, we intend to monitor through our island stakeholders whether guidance would be beneficial. I hope that the committee will recommend that the draft regulations be approved.

I have a question on a technical aspect of the 2018 act. There are a large number of public bodies that have to do an island communities impact assessment, and my understanding is that, at the moment, the requirement is only that they publish on their website the details of when they are undertaking a review and the deadlines process. It is perhaps harder for those on the islands who want to keep up to date with impact assessments that may be relevant to them if they have to check all the different websites, so could there be a central dashboard on the Scottish Government website that would allow somebody who wants to keep an eye on what island impact assessments are being undertaken to go to one central resource? Can you confirm that that is not available at the moment? If it is not, could it be considered?

I thank Jamie Halcro Johnston for that useful question. Clearly, there are provisions in the 2018 act and regulations to cover the issue of publication. I certainly identify with what he is saying, not least because we want to avoid duplicate requests. If there is already a request that fulfils the interests of a person who potentially wishes to request a review, and it has been published, they should be able to see that one is already in the system and perhaps support that application rather than creating their own.

Under the 2018 act, a relevant authority has been obliged only to publish its reasons for not carrying out an island communities impact assessment, but now all island communities impact assessments are to be published in the interests of transparency. A supplementary provision is being introduced that is considered to be appropriate for the purpose of giving full effect to the act. It will, we hope, allow the public to access the decision making on whether an ICIA has already been carried out.

On what we expect the relevant authorities to publish on their websites, we hope that the process that has been developed is transparent and will give people confidence. We require relevant authorities to publish the application form for any third-party representations followed by the publication of responses to those third-party representations, any written submissions that were requested by the relevant authority and any decision notice.

Jamie Halcro Johnston makes a good point about having a central place where it would be possible for anyone to see what is being published by any authority, because that could be helpful to a potential applicant. I will ask Paul Maxton to say what our thoughts are on trying to collate all those reports into one place, with your forbearance, convener.

Good morning, Paul. Are you there? I think that you are live now—off you go.

The regulations contain an obligation to publish the ICIA and so on. The relevant authority can use its own website; whether it uses another website would be a matter for it, but we could certainly consider that approach.

I do not doubt that we will have a lot to learn, as part of the post-implementation monitoring and review process. I can certainly see the benefit of having one central repository, and we could look at that further in conjunction with our stakeholders.

As there are no further questions, we move to item 2, which is formal consideration of motion S5M-23257, in the name of the Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands. I call the minister to make any further comments and to move the motion.

I agree with the point that Paul Maxton made. We are happy to look at anything that we can do to make the process of understanding what reviews and island communities impact assessments have taken place as easy as possible for stakeholders, so I will certainly pick up the point that Mr Halcro Johnston raised.

I move,

That the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee recommends that the Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 [draft] be approved.

The affirmative instrument strengthens the act, and I particularly welcome the requirement for island communities impact assessments to be published online, in the interests of transparency—it is a positive step forward. I also welcome the comments regarding the possible collation of the reports in one place.

Motion agreed to,

That concludes our consideration of this item. I thank the minister and his team.