Consultation on the Draft Scottish Climate Change Adaption Programme: Analysis of Responses

7 Climate Ready Society

7.1 This chapter presents an analysis of respondents' views on the objectives, policies and proposals set out under the heading of a Climate Ready Society (S theme). The S theme included the following three objectives:

• S1 - Understand the effects of climate change and their impacts on people, homes and communities
• S2 - Increase the awareness of the impacts of climate change to enable people to adapt to future extreme weather events
• S3 - Support our health service and emergency responders to enable them to respond effectively to the increased pressures associated with a changing climate

7.2 The consultation asked five questions in relation to this theme:

Question 4a: Do objectives S1, S2 and S3 collectively set an appropriate long term direction to ensure that our communities are able to adapt to our changing climate?

Question 4b: To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S1 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Question 4c: To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S2 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Question 4d: To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S3 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Question 4e: Taken together, do the policies and proposals listed under objectives S1, S2 and S3 address the current and predicted impacts to Scottish society identified in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment?

7.3 This chapter includes three sub-sections: the first will discuss respondents' comments on Question 4a; the second will present views about the policies and proposals under each objective (Questions 4b-4d); and the third will consider the responses to Question 4e.

Do the objectives collectively set an appropriate long term direction? (Q4a)

7.4 Forty-three (43) respondents answered Question 4a. Of these, 28 (65%) thought the objectives either "fully" or "mostly" set an appropriate long term direction for adaptation within Scottish communities, while 15 (35%) thought they only "partially" or "poorly" did so. (Table 7.1.) The latter group included most of the education / research respondents and most of the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as 5 out of 19 local authority respondents.

7.5 Thirty-six (36) respondents provided further comment in relation to Question 4a. This represents just over half (54%) of all respondents.

Table 7.1: Question 4a - Do objectives S1, S2 and S3 collectively set an appropriate long term direction to ensure that our communities are able to adapt to our changing climate?

Respondent Type	Fully	Mostly	Partially	Poorly	Total
Conservation & planning					0
Education & research		1	3	1	5
Local authority & CPPs	3	11	5		19
NGOs		2	4		6
NHS or health-related		3	1		4
Private sector	1		1		2
Transport	1				1
Other public bodies		5			5
Individual respondents		1			1
Total	5	23	14	1	43
Total percentages	12%	53%	33%	2%	100%

General comments

7.6 Respondents who ticked "fully" or "mostly" in response to Question 4a generally described the objectives as "comprehensive", and addressing "a good range of important issues". This group of respondents thought that the objectives collectively "covered the most important aspects of community resilience", "identified the risks clearly" and "successfully reflected the way most members of the public will experience the impact of climate change".

7.7 Those who were less satisfied commented that the S theme was "the least developed" of the Programme's three themes.

7.8 Across all questions (Questions 4a-e), respondents said that links needed to be made with the social inclusion and community regeneration agendas. They suggested that the provisions of the Community Empowerment Bill, in particular, provided an opportunity to integrate mechanisms for community capacity building into the Programme.

7.9 Once again, many of the issues identified in Chapter 3 (Key issues) were also raised in respondents' comments on the S theme. In particular, respondents wanted further detail about responsibilities for implementation (particularly for public bodies) and funding. They also suggested there was a need to make links to the other two (N and B) themes in the Programme in relation to green infrastructure and improving building standards.

Perceived gaps and areas for development

7.10 In their responses to Question 4a, respondents highlighted specific areas in the S theme which they perceived as gaps, or as areas for development. Key concerns, across a wide range of respondents, included:

• Business and the economy: The lack of reference in any of the S objectives to improving the adaptive capacity of businesses and the economy was seen to be a significant omission. Some respondents thought that the Programme should have a separate theme on the economy, while others thought there should be a fourth objective on the economy under the S theme. However, it was also suggested that policies related to business and services could be incorporated within the current S objectives, for example, by revising the S1 objective to include "people, homes, communities and businesses".

Disruption to supply chains was thought to be a significant risk for businesses and services, and it was suggested that businesses dependent on the natural environment were at greatest risk from a changing climate.

• Building capacity in communities: While some respondents recognised the efforts of the Programme to include community capacity building measures, there was a general view that these were not sufficient. Respondents wanted to see a shift in emphasis within the S objectives from increasing awareness to building capacity (i.e. "unlocking the ability of individuals and communities to do things for themselves"). Respondents thought the Programme should acknowledge the role of the third sector and the education sector in engaging with communities and supporting capacity building.
• Health services and emergency responders (objective S3): Respondents from a range of sectors agreed that health and emergency services had a crucial role to play. However, they thought the objective should be expanded to recognise local authorities and community planning partners as emergency responders.
• Interpretation of resilience: There was a concern that resilience should not be equated with emergency planning. Rather, respondents argued that resilience is more about the long term process of achieving community-level preparedness, and therefore, communities also have a role in this.
• Food security and food systems: Respondents thought the Programme had not addressed the risks to Scottish society of increased prices and reduced supplies, particularly supplies of food for a healthy lifestyle. The adaptation requirements for domestic food production, including organic systems, should be included in the S theme. There was a view that food security problems would have the greatest impact on people who were socially disadvantaged.

Appropriateness of policies and proposals under each objective (Qs 4b-4d)

7.11 Questions 4b, 4c and 4d asked for respondents' views on the policies and proposals set out under objectives S1, S2 and S3 respectively. Tables 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4 on the following page show that around half of the total 67 respondents answered each of these three questions:

• Of the 38 respondents who answered Question 4b, 24 (64%) thought that the policies and proposals under objective S1 were "fully" or "mostly" appropriate, while 14 (37%) thought they were less so.
• Of the 37 respondents who answered Question 4c, 27 (73%) thought that the policies and proposals under objective S2 were "fully" or "mostly" appropriate, while 10 (27%) thought they were less so.
• Of the 33 respondents who answered Question 4d, 23 (70%) thought the policies and proposals under objective S3 were "fully" or "mostly" appropriate, while 10 (30%) thought they were less so.

7.12 Across all three objectives, those who were less supportive included a majority of the education / research respondents and between one-fifth and two-fifths of the local authority respondents.

Table 7.2: Question 4b - To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S1 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Respondent Type	Fully	Mostly	Partially	Poorly	Total
Conservation & planning					0
Education & research		1	3	1	5
Local authority & CPPs	2	9	6	1	18
NGOs	1	3			4
NHS or health-related	1	2	1		4
Private sector		1		1	2
Transport			1		1
Other public bodies		4			4
Individual respondents					0
Total	4	20	11	3	38
Total percentages	11%	53%	29%	8%	100%

* Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Table 7.3: Question 4c - To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S2 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Respondent Type	Fully	Mostly	Partially	Poorly	Total
Conservation & planning					0
Education & research		1	3	1	5
Local authority & CPPs	3	11	3	1	18
NGOs		3	1		4
NHS or health-related	1	3			4
Private sector	1		1		2
Transport		1			1
Other public bodies		3			3
Individual respondents					0
Total	5	22	8	2	37
Total percentages	14%	59%	22%	5%	100%

Table 7.4: Question 4d - To what extent will the policies and proposals listed under objective S3 provide an appropriate focus for the lifetime of the Programme in order to progress towards the long-term objective?

Respondent Type	Fully	Mostly	Partially	Poorly	Total
Conservation & planning					0
Education & research		1	3		4
Local authority & CPPs	2	10	5		17
NGOs		1	1		2
NHS or health-related		4			4
Private sector		1		1	2
Transport	1				1
Other public bodies		3			3
Individual respondents					0
Total	3	20	9	1	33
Total percentages	9%	61%	27%	3%	100%

The number of respondents who made further comments at Questions 4b, 4c and 4d, are shown below:

• 33 respondents (49% of the total 67) commented at Question 4b
• 34 respondents (51% of the total 67) commented at Question 4c
• 26 respondents (39% of the total 67) commented at Question 4d

General comments

7.13 Those who were generally satisfied with the appropriateness of the policies and proposals under objectives S1, S2 and S3 generally described them as "comprehensive", "well-covered" and "well-articulated".

7.14 Respondents considered the "climate justice work" under objective S1 to be especially welcome and valuable. Those who commented on policy S1 (Research to identify and develop an understanding of communities) were unanimous in their support of this work, and considered it appropriate that people who were most vulnerable to the potential effects of climate change should be prioritised in the Programme. There was a call for the Programme to consider how the findings of this work might inform adaptation responses within communities.

Perceived gaps and areas for development

7.15 Respondents noted a number of issues which they perceived to be missing from the policies and proposals under the S theme, or which they thought required further development. Issues that were noted by a range of respondents are reported here.

7.16 Respondents noted a number of issues which they perceived to be missing from the policies and proposals under the S theme, or which they thought required further development. Issues that were noted by a range of respondents are reported here.

7.17 Under objective S1 (understand the effects of climate change and their impacts on people, homes and communities):

• Range of measures inadequate: There was a general view that the policies under objective S1 seemed "quite thin compared to other objectives", with a limited focus on food-borne pathogens and flood-prone communities. While there was recognition among some respondents that the first five years of the Programme would be spent in gathering information (thus the large volume of work in the proposals section of S1), others thought that there was scope to incorporate additional measures under S1. It was suggested that a review be undertaken by the Scottish Government of the policies and proposals under S1 to ensure that relevant action is being taken in the current Programme, using existing knowledge of the social impacts of severe weather.
  Suggestions for additional work under S1 included research on, for example:
  • The impact of climate change on communities
  • How community-led activities can increase the social and environmental resilience of communities
  • Why people do not engage with climate change messages
  • Ways of improving skills and awareness among community planning partners
  • The risks to businesses and the economy

7.18 Under objective S2 (increase the awareness of the impacts of climate change to enable people to adapt to future extreme weather events), the following issues were raised by a range of respondents:

• Educating and raising awareness: In general, respondents agreed that there was a crucial need to raise awareness and educate those living and working in communities - particularly those who may be at risk from flooding. However, there was a view that the policies and proposals under S2 might fail to reach those who are most vulnerable, and it was suggested that additional efforts should identify ways of measuring community and individual preparedness. The point was also made that strategies would be needed to ensure that information is accessible to people in emergency situations when electronic communications may not be available.
  Respondents welcomed policies S2-12 (increase awareness of flood risk and flood resilience in schools) and S2-14 (improve education on flood risk management), but also thought that a range of other agencies, including those in the third sector and local universities and colleges, could be involved in educating and raising awareness among members of the wider public in a range of informal settings.
  Some respondents highlighted existing resources (in addition to those mentioned in the Programme) which they suggested the Programme could mention as supporting community awareness raising and education. These included:
  • Scotland's Environment Web (which provides an education resource)
  • Eco Schools Scotland Programme (managed by Keep Scotland Beautiful)
  • Community Flood Resilience Groups (which actively promote the take up of SEPA's Flood Line)
  • Charretteplus programme (developed by Planning Aid for Scotland)
  • Adaptation Scotland (which provides support for businesses and provides a community training kit).
• Resources to support capacity building: As noted above, respondents emphasised the importance of capacity building measures within the Programme. Therefore, policy S2-7 (develop and promote resources to support capacity building and resilience to emergencies) was considered to be a key policy. However, respondents thought that the provision of information, guidance and advice would not be sufficient. Practical measures are also needed such as establishing "cool refuges" in public places; developing additional resources for poorer households; working with social landlords to flood-proof dwellings; and supporting community-level developments in relation to renewables, waste processing and food security.
• Wider effects of climate change for communities: Respondents commented that the policies and proposals under objective S2 were largely focused on flooding. The point was made that there are also wider consequences of climate change, including impacts for health and wellbeing, which should be addressed in the Programme.

7.19 Under objective S3 (support our health service and emergency responders to enable them to respond effectively to the increased pressures associated with a changing climate), respondents welcomed the plans to improve capacity within health and emergency services. However, as mentioned in para 7.10 (point 3), they also thought that the policies and proposals under S3 should be broadened to consider longer term impacts and to reflect the contributions of other agencies, including:

• Local authorities and the voluntary sector in providing long-term care for vulnerable people
• Third sector organisations in providing specialist expertise
• Neighbourhood partnerships as emergency responders

7.20 This general view was echoed in the comments made by a range of respondents on policies S3-1 (development of individual Climate Change Adaptation Plans by NHS Boards) and S3-2 (development of Property and Asset Management Plans). All those who commented on these policies suggested these policies should apply to all public bodies and not just the NHS.

Extent to which the Programme addresses the risks identified in the UK CCRA (Q4e)

7.21 Thirty-seven (37) respondents answered Question 4e. Of these, 24 (65%) thought that the policies and proposals listed under the S objectives either "fully" or "mostly" addressed the predicted current and future impacts to Scottish society identified in the UK CCRA, while 13 respondents (35%) thought they only "partially" or "poorly" did so. (Table 7.5.) The latter group included most of the education / research organisations and 4 out of 17 local authority respondents.

Table 7.5: Question 4e - Taken together, do the policies and proposals listed under objectives S1, S2 and S3 address the current and predicted impacts to Scottish society identified in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment?

Respondent Type	Fully	Mostly	Partially	Poorly	Total
Conservation & planning					0
Education & research		1	3	1	5
Local authority & CPPs	3	10	4		17
NGOs		2	3		5
NHS or health-related		3	1		4
Private sector	1			1	2
Transport	1				1
Other public bodies		3			3
Individual respondents					0
Total	5	19	11	2	37
Total percentages	14%	51%	30%	5%	100%

7.22 Twenty-nine (29) respondents made comments in relation to Question 4e. Some simply referred back to or repeated comments they had previously made in response to Questions 4a-4d.

7.23 Others identified a very wide range of risks which they thought were not adequately addressed in the Programme, including:

• Risks to water and air quality
• Risks to communities and businesses from wildfire, rising sea levels and coastal erosion
• Business and service disruption and increased commodity costs
• Financial risk (including increased insurance costs) for vulnerable groups
• Risks to outdoor leisure, sport, tourism and major outdoor events
• Increased immigration
• Risks to food production and supply chains
• Heat- and cold-related mortality and disruption

7.24 However, it was not generally clear from the responses whether these were related to risks identified in the UK CCRA.