Breaking New Ground? Developing a Scottish tax to replace the UK Aggregates Levy: consultation

Chapter 12: Impact Assessments

In accordance with legislative requirements, a number of Impact Assessments are or will be completed as part of work to develop the Bill.

Business and Regulation

In developing proposals for legislation, a Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) analyses whether a policy is likely to increase or reduce the costs and burdens placed on businesses, the public sector, voluntary and community organisations.

A partial BRIA accompanies this consultation. Your comments will help update the BRIA, which will be published at the same time as the Bill. Any secondary legislation that flows from the Bill's primary powers will be subject to a BRIA and consultation at that time as necessary.

Questions

C1 - Do you have any information which could inform any final BRIA relating to the Bill?

Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment

The Articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the child wellbeing indicators under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 apply to all children and young people up to the age of 18, including non-citizen and undocumented children and young people.

We have considered the proposed provisions against the requirements of a Children's Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment and concluded that there will likely be no impact – direct or indirect – of the Bill on children and young people.

However, this assessment will be revisited following the public consultation, to ensure that any issues raised are taken into consideration.

Questions

C2 - Are you aware of any examples of particular current or future impacts, positive or negative, on young people, (children, pupils, and young adults up to the age of 26) of any aspect of the proposals in this consultation?

Environment

The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires those preparing public plans and programmes to undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) if they are likely to result in significant environmental effects when implemented.

At this stage it is our view that, as per Section 7 of the 2005 Act, the policy around the Scottish aggregates tax would be exempt from the 2005 Act as it is likely to have no or minimal effects on the environment as we do not consider it will have an additional environmental impact to the levy it is replacing.

It is our intention to submit a notification, as per Section 7(3) of the 2005 Act, following the consultation. This approach is to help ensure our opinion on the likely environmental effects does not shift as a result of the consultation.

Questions

C3 - Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative, that you consider any of the proposals in this consultation may have on the environment?

Equality

In developing proposals for a Scottish aggregates tax, the public sector equality duty requires the Scottish Government to pay due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, victimisation, harassment or other unlawful conduct that is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010;
• advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and
• foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic.

These three requirements apply across the 'protected characteristics' of:

• age;
• disability;
• gender reassignment;
• marriage and civil partnership;
• pregnancy and maternity;
• race;
• religion and belief;
• sex and sexual orientation.

We have considered the proposals against the needs of the general equality duty as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, and have considered whether the measures could constitute direct and/or indirect discrimination.

On present evidence, we do not assess that this policy will have any impact on those who share a protected characteristic. This assessment will be updated following the public consultation, and associated engagement, to reflect any new evidence.

Questions

C4 – Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation may impact, either positively or negatively, on these with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation)?

Fairer Scotland Duty

The Fairer Scotland Duty is set out in legislation in Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010 and came into force in Scotland from April 2018. It requires Scottish Ministers and named public bodies to actively consider what more can be done to reduce the 'inequalities of outcome' caused by 'socio-economic disadvantage' when making 'strategic decisions'.

After consideration, our view is that a Fairer Scotland Duty assessment is not required because the proposed tax will not directly impact on those experiencing socio-economic disadvantage and will be paid only by aggregates producers.

However, this assessment will be revisited following the public consultation, to ensure that any issues raised there are addressed.

Questions

C5 – Are you aware of any examples of potential impacts, either positive or negative that you consider any of the proposals in this consultation may have on groups or areas at socio-economic disadvantage (such as income, low wealth or area deprivation)?

Island Communities

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 provides for a duty on Scottish Ministers and other relevant public bodies that they must have regard to island communities in exercising their functions and in the development of legislation.

Section 13 of the 2018 Act obliges the Scottish Ministers to prepare an Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) in relation to legislation which, in their opinion, is likely to influence an island community that is significantly different from its effect on other communities in Scotland.

A draft ICIA accompanies this consultation, we do not assess that any of the proposed provisions of the bill will have any significant impact for Scottish Islands, however responses to this consultation will be used to update the ICIA.

Questions

C6 - Are you aware of any examples of how the proposals in this consultation might impact, positively or negatively, on island communities in a way that is different from the impact on mainland areas?