The Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020

Explanatory note

Reproduced verbatim from the instrument as published on legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). The note is prepared by the responsible government department and is not part of the instrument itself.

These Regulations make provision under sections 9(1) and 30(1) of the Islands Scotland Act 2018 (“the Act”) about reviews of decisions of relevant authorities relating to island community impact assessments under section 8(1) of the Act. They also introduce a requirement for publication of island communities impact assessments by relevant authorities.

Part 1 of the Regulations sets out how the Regulations apply and are to be interpreted.

Part 2 of the Regulations sets out the requirement for relevant authorities to publish island communities impact assessments.

Part 3 of the Regulations sets out the procedure for the review process.

Regulation 4 sets out the grounds on which an applicant can request a review of a decision relating to an islands community impact assessment.

Regulation 5 sets out the time period within which an application for review may be made and that the application should be made using the form set out in the schedule.

Regulation 6 sets out how a relevant authority is to acknowledge an application, the time period within which an applicant must provide any missing information following a notification from the relevant authority, how an application is validated and the circumstances in which a relevant authority can decline to consider an application.

Regulation 7 requires a relevant authority to publish a notice with details about the review once an application has been validated. It sets out the information that must be included in the notice. The notice must contain details about how any representations in respect of the review can be made.

Regulation 8 requires that the relevant authority must send a copy of any representations received to the applicant and inform them how and when they can comment on representations.

Regulation 9 requires that the relevant authority makes copies of representations and comments received under regulations 7, 8 or 12 available for inspection on a website and sets out what information should or can be removed prior to publication.

Regulations 10 and 11 make provision for the procedure, if any is considered to be required, to be followed by the relevant authority when determining the review.

Regulation 12 sets out the procedure for how written submissions are to be sought, to whom these must be sent and how comments can be made on any additional material.

Regulation 13 sets out the procedure to be followed by the relevant authority if new evidence is to be taken into account following the conclusion of any procedure under regulation 11.

Regulation 14 sets out the time period in which the relevant authority must issue their decision notice, who is to be issued with a copy of the notice and that the notice must be made available for inspection.

Regulation 15 sets out the information that must be included in the decision notice. The notice must state the relevant authority’s determination of the review and the reasons for that determination. The notice must state whether or not further action will be taken by the relevant authority.

Regulation 16 sets out what further actions may be taken by a relevant authority following a review.

Part 4 of the Regulations makes general provision in relation to the use of electronic communications (regulation 17) and about the definition of ‘contact address’ (regulation 18).

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (“BRIA”), Equality Impact Assessment (“EIA”), Fairer Scotland Duty Impact Assessment (“FSDIA”), Data Protection Impact Assessment (“DPIA”) and Island Communities Impact Assessment (“ICIA”) have been prepared in relation to these Regulations and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies of the BRIA, EIA, FSDIA, DPIA and ICIA are available from Scottish Government, Victoria Quay, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ and online at www.legislation.gov.uk