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

8 Role of Others in Delivering the Programme

8.1 This chapter presents an analysis of respondents' views on the role of public bodies and other organisations / groups in delivering the Programme. The consultation document included two questions on this issue:

Question 5a: What support will public bodies require in meeting their duties to help deliver the programme?

Question 5b: Are the arrangements for ensuring public engagement and for involving employers, trade unions and other stakeholders in meeting the programme objectives sufficient?

8.2 Respondents' comments in relation to Question 5a focused on many of the issues outlined in Chapter 3 (Key points). This chapter will provide a more detailed analysis of these comments.

Support required by public bodies to help deliver the Programme (Q5a)

8.3 Forty-nine (49) respondents (73% of all respondents) offered comments in response to Question 5a. Table 8.1 below shows a breakdown of respondents, by respondent type. The table shows that local authorities, NHS organisations and other public bodies comprised nearly two-thirds of the respondents to Question 5a.

Table 8.1: Question 5a - What support will public bodies require in meeting their duties to help deliver the Programme?

General comments

8.4 Respondents welcomed the Scottish Government's efforts to produce a national adaptation programme. It was acknowledged that climate change would affect the way services are delivered in the future as public bodies throughout Scotland sought to respond to the increasing frequency of severe weather events.

8.5 Respondents made a range of specific suggestions for the type of support, guidance and extra resources that public bodies would need to meet their duties in helping to deliver the Programme. (These will be discussed below.) In addition, they also made more general comments about the Programme and asked for certain issues to be clarified. These more general comments were made by all public sector bodies, as well as some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) not only at Question 5a, but repeatedly in their responses to the consultation. General comments focused on the need for clarity about:

• Roles and responsibilities: Public sector bodies were unsure about what, if any, aspects of the Programme they were expected to deliver. There was a unanimous call for clarification on this point. This group of respondents wanted guidance about what specific actions were required to be delivered, by whom, in what timescales and what resources would be needed. Although the Programme stated that the role of local authorities, in particular, was "critical" to the success of adaptation in Scotland, it was pointed out that very few of the policies and proposals had identified local authorities as a delivery body.
• Reporting requirements: Respondents also sought guidance about monitoring and reporting requirements, how compliance with the public bodies duty would be measured, and what the implications would be for the community planning process and Single Outcome Agreements. It was noted that local authorities already produce annual Sustainability Reports and Climate Change Declaration Statements, and there was a question about whether reporting for the Programme would be through these existing mechanisms, or some form of additional reporting.
• The resources available for delivery: Respondents thought that additional resources would be required to deliver the Programme, particularly in the context of wider austerity measures. They wanted the Programme to make explicit the funding that is already committed for the policies and proposals. This was of particular concern to local authority respondents, who thought it would be difficult to secure high-level support for implementation within their own organisations without adequate financial and staff resources.

Specific suggestions about the support public bodies would require

8.6 A range of respondents made specific suggestions for the support that will be needed by public bodies to help deliver the Programme. These included:

• Guidance, tools and training: Respondents highlighted a need to build capacity and skills within the public sector. Guidance, mentoring, training and learning materials based on high quality research and best practice would be needed. Case studies were seen to be particularly useful to aid understanding.

Respondents also saw a need for tools and, in some cases, technical assistance to help in the identification of priorities and to assist decision-making at a local level. Support was voiced for continued or enhanced funding for organisations like Adaptation Scotland and Sustainable Scotland Network which have played an important role in capacity building, sharing knowledge, and producing guidance. The further and higher education sector and bodies like ClimateXChange were also seen to provide a role in disseminating research findings to public bodies.

• Leadership: Respondents mentioned the need for leadership or champions at a senior level in national and local government to ensure that the Programme receives adequate priority and resources.
• Financial models: Respondents highlighted a need for the development of long term financial models to help public body finance managers understand the long term payback for early investment in adaptation activities.
• Strengthened planning policy: It was suggested there is a need for stronger measures to support adaptation through planning policy.

Arrangements for public engagement (Q5b)

8.7 Question 5a focused on the role of public bodies in helping to deliver the Programme. Question 5b focused on respondents' views about whether sufficient arrangements had been set out in the Programme for engaging a wide range of other organisations / groups to help with delivery.

8.8 Thirty-six (36) respondents answered Question 5b. Of these, 15 (42%) thought that the arrangements were sufficient for ensuring public engagement and involving others in meeting the Programme objectives, and 21 (58%) thought they were not. (Table 8.1.) Local authorities and NHS organisations were divided in their views on this question, while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) unanimously thought the arrangements set out in the Programme were not sufficient.

Table 8.1: Question 5b - Are the arrangements for ensuring public engagement and for involving employers, trade unions and other stakeholders in meeting the Programme objectives sufficient?

8.9 Forty (40) respondents (60% of all respondents) made comments in relation to Question 5b.

8.10 Those who thought arrangements were sufficient described the proposals as "sound", "appropriate" and a "sufficient starting point". However, these same respondents highlighted areas for development, similar to those who did not think the arrangements were adequate.

8.11 In summary, respondents commented that they felt that there should be more engagement work with businesses, communities, the media and the general public. Respondents wanted to see a "clear statement of ambition" to engage more inclusively with all relevant stakeholders. In addition, as highlighted in Chapter 7, respondents particularly emphasised the need to engage more effectively with communities on the issue of climate change. Another key issue was the perceived lack of clarity on the delivery of engagement activities - roles, responsibilities, timescales and resourcing.

Other comments

8.12 In relation to the need to engage a wider group of stakeholders, respondents emphasised the importance of:

• Building capacity and skills: Respondents highlighted a need for training not just among public bodies, but among all relevant stakeholders. There was a concern that the Scottish Government and other responsible organisations may not have the skills in adaptation, and in community engagement, to successfully deliver the Programme. At the same time, as noted above, there was support for Adaptation Scotland's role in providing training, tools, resources and practical support across the public, private and third sectors. However, concern was raised that there were not the resources necessary to support its continued delivery.
• Community planning: This was seen to be central to being able to build resilience and adaption measures and respondents wanted this point to feature more in the finalised version of the Programme. Respondents pointed out that Community Planning Partnerships involve stakeholders from all sectors, and these bodies have a key role in co-ordinating and delivering local policy frameworks to support community resilience.