National Marine Plan 2: planning position statement

3. Vision

As with the current National Marine Plan and in line with requirements under the Marine Acts, NMP2 will continue to support the UK Marine Policy Statement (“UK MPS”)^[4] vision: ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically diverse oceans and seas’ and our Scottish Government vision for the marine environment: ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive and diverse seas; managed to meet the long term needs of nature and people’.

As the marine planning framework, NMP2 is a key delivery mechanism for our Blue Economy Vision^[5]:

‘By 2045 Scotland’s shared stewardship of our marine environment supports ecosystem health, improved livelihoods, economic prosperity, social inclusion and wellbeing’

The report ‘Delivering Scotland’s Blue Economy Approach’^[6] (November 2022) identifies six, equally weighted, outcomes, and looks to transition away from conventional thinking that stipulates we must always trade off economic production against environmental protection. Instead, it recognises that one relies on the other – economically productive and thriving marine sectors require a biologically healthy marine environment.

We are adopting a “blue economy” approach to NMP2; considering the environment, social wellbeing and economy together. The NMP2 objectives and policies will be mapped against our six blue economy outcomes to support their delivery (Figure 1). These outcomes provide the framing for how NMP2 will contribute to our national performance framework^[7] and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The NMP2 and National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) will act as companion documents, setting out a coherent vision for the future development of Scotland’s land and seas.

In Spring 2024 a series of “Future Scenario” workshops were held to explore (with representatives from marine sectors, non-governmental organisations, statutory advisors and Scottish and UK regulators) what factors may influence the delivery of our blue economy vision for 2045, and how the vision can be supported through the development of NMP2. The recommendations from the workshops will be used in the development of the draft NMP2.

3.1 Role Of NMP2

3.1.1 Requirement To Develop A Marine Plan

3.1.1.1 UK Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009 and Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (Marine Acts)

Scotland’s waters are governed under a series of legislative frameworks. Marine Planning in Scotland’s waters is governed by two Acts – the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (“MCAA”) and the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 (“MSA”), often referred to as the “Marine Acts”. The Marine Acts set out the requirement for the development of marine plans.

The MCAA requires that marine plans are prepared for the UK marine area, covering both inshore and offshore waters (0 to 200 nautical miles) (Section 51). The devolved administrations (the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive) have jurisdiction over marine planning matters in their respective waters from 0 to 12 nautical miles (inshore waters). Under the MCAA, marine planning for offshore waters from 12 to 200 nautical miles is executively devolved to marine planning authorities in the Devolved Administrations, which for Scotland is Scottish Ministers.

The MSA requires Scottish Ministers to prepare and adopt a National Marine Plan for the Scottish marine area, covering Scotland’s inshore waters (0-12 nautical miles).

3.1.1.2 EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive 2014

In recognition of the increasing pressures on European Seas and noting the need for an integrated approach to planning and management of marine and coastal resources, Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Union Parliament, and of the Council, establishes a framework for maritime spatial planning to promote sustainable development and use of European Seas. The framework provides for Member States to establish and implement maritime spatial planning (Article 4(1)) and to consider economic, social and environmental aspects to support sustainable development and growth, applying an ecosystem-based approach which promotes the co-existence of relevant activities and uses (Article 5(1)). As the UK is no longer a member of the EU, EU legislation, as it applied to the UK on 31 December 2020, is now a part of UK domestic legislation as set out in the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 as modified by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 and the principles set out in the Directive will be enacted through NMP2.

3.2 Purpose Of Plan

The MSA requires that the NMP2 furthers the achievement of ‘sustainable development’, including the protection and, where appropriate, enhancement of the health of the Scottish marine area. The NMP2 will help to tackle the twin crises of climate change and nature loss; supporting our transition to net zero through the sustainable management of our shared marine space, while considering just transition principles in the marine planning process. The NMP2 will provide an updated marine planning framework to address the increasing competition for marine space and resources in Scottish waters. Balancing the need for protection and enhancement of the marine environment and the sustainable economic development of existing and emerging sectors.

The NMP2 will be produced in conformity with the UK Marine Policy Statement (“UK MPS”) (unless relevant considerations state otherwise) and has regard to NPF4 to ensure consistency across the planning regime. It will provide an updated planning context for marine decisions; setting out the policy and legislative landscape and will support the delivery (through planning) of outcomes in existing strategies and commitments which manage our seas, such as Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy, Scotland’s Fisheries Management Strategy 2020-2030, Offshore Wind Policy Statement and Scotland’s Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture.

The updated planning context will help marine planners and decision-makers to deliver, through planning, on duties set out in wider legislation such as the biodiversity duty, Marine Strategy Regulations or requirements on marine planning within the Joint Fisheries Statement. Annex C contains a list of example relevant matters, (legislation, policies and plans) which will be considered in the development of NMP2 and has been used to identify outcomes which can be supported through marine planning.

The NMP2 will provide a decision-making framework to guide future licensing and consenting decisions and support streamlining of the licensing and consenting process. It will set the context for regional and sectoral planning. Regional marine plans must be in conformity with the NMP2 (unless relevant considerations state otherwise). Under the Marine Acts (MSA, Section 15(1); MCAA, Section 58(1)), decisions such as policy, plans (e.g. sectoral marine plans or fisheries management plans) or strategies which affect the marine area must have regard to NMP2.

The NMP2 will not replace or remove existing regulatory regimes or legislative requirements. As a planning document NMP2 will inform if, where, when and how development takes place and provide guidance on reaching those decisions. The regulation and management of activities are covered by sector-specific regulations outside of planning; such as the Fisheries Act 2020 or the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

We are taking an ecosystem-based approach^[8] to marine planning, in support of sustainable development and ecosystem-based management of human activities. We seek to do this through our coordinated approach to management of the marine environment and marine resources across a range of different policies and commitments. This includes putting in place appropriate restrictions on human activity in areas which need additional protection, minimising risk and interaction of human activity with key sensitive marine species, and management of activity to enable the sustainable use of marine goods and services.

NMP2 will cover Scottish territorial waters (0-12 nautical miles) and Scottish offshore waters (12-200 nautical miles) for which Scottish Ministers have planning responsibility. It will include provisions for reserved functions such as shipping and telecommunications. Licensing for reserved functions such as oil and gas is carried out by the UK Government.

The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments are jointly commissioning the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to create a Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) for the energy system, land and sea, across Great Britain. The SSEP is focused on the generation and storage of electricity and hydrogen, and will enable better planning of the power grid. The Scottish Government is also engaging on development of the UK-wide Clean Power Plan 2030 (CPP2030^[9].) Following publication of the SSEP and CPP2030, the Scottish Government will consider whether it would be appropriate to amend any adopted marine plans, as the planning authority for our seas.

3.2.1 Furthering Sustainable Development

Scotland’s marine economy includes activities dependant on the marine environment. They provide an important source of income and employment across Scotland. In 2021, the marine economy (excluding offshore wind) generated £4.5 billion in gross value added (GVA), (3% of the overall Scottish economy) and employed 69,800 people (headcount), 2.7% of the total Scottish employment^[10]. In 2021 fishing and aquaculture combined accounted for 17% of Scotland’s marine economy GVA.

The need to clarify sustainable development within marine planning has been raised and we have received suggestions pointing towards the three pillars of sustainability (economy, society and environment)^[11], Brundtland Commission Report^[12], recent Dasgupta Review^[13] (2021), and existing definitions and ambitions set out in recent strategies and visions for Scotland.

National Performance Framework: Sustainability is defined by the Scottish Parliament as: “Going forward our societies should improve the capability of all people to meet their needs while not reducing the ability of subsequent generations or those who live outwith Scotland to meet theirs.”^[14] The definition sets out two essential conditions of sustainability:

1. “We cannot damage the environmental systems that make human and all other life possible and bearable.”

2. “Our economic, political and cultural systems cannot favour some people while harming others.”

These conditions form the basis of a framework for sustainable development, alongside three supporting conditions: 1) an economy that doesn’t damage the environment and benefits all people; 2) public policy that is based on sound evidence; and 3) governance systems that are open, democratic, and participatory.

This definition guides policymaking across the Scottish Government, with a view to ensuring delivery against the UN Sustainable Development Goals through Scotland’s National Performance Framework.

Scotland’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation^[15]: sets out a vision that by 2032 Scotland will be a wellbeing economy – an economic system which serves the collective wellbeing of current and future generations within safe ecological limits, placing people and the planet at its core. Underpinning this is a commitment to work across society to deliver lasting action that secures a just transition ensuring that economic change is managed in a way that is fair for all.

Our Blue Economy Vision^[16] acknowledges that our marine, coastal and interlinked freshwater resources are national assets and part of Scotland’s cultural identity that has shaped our economy. For these habitats to continue to play this important role in lives and livelihoods, we must manage, protect, and enhance these ecosystems to achieve long-term health and economic sustainability.

Programme for Government 2024-25: Serving Scotland^[17], “Boosting fair, green economic growth is central to our priorities.” “The twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss represent the existential threat of our times … We must reduce emissions and our vulnerability to the future impacts of climate change and restore our natural environment.”

Furthering sustainable development through NMP2

Marine planning seeks to balance the needs of people and our environment through decision-making. Our marine economic sectors provide a vital source of economic and social benefit to Scotland’s communities, low carbon food production and energy generation which makes a vital contribution to the energy mix across the UK. Our marine environment provides essential ecosystem goods and services including provision of food and regulation of the climate. A healthy and resilient marine ecosystem will underpin future sustainable growth and our ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Managing and developing our marine economy sustainably requires protecting and enhancing our marine environment to support our economic productivity and social wellbeing. This requires an ecosystem-based approach to the management of existing and emerging human activities.

This has been reflected in the objectives and policy ideas for NMP2 including expectations for developments to go further in support of action to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

3.2.2 Supporting A Just Transition

For the Scottish Government a just transition is both the outcome – a fairer, greener future for all – and the process that must be undertaken in partnership with those impacted by the transition to net zero and nature positive. A just transition supports a net zero and climate resilient economy in a way that delivers fairness and tackles inequality and injustice. We are committed to taking an approach that is informed by a just transition:

• By conducting engagement using a staged approach; sharing information as it becomes available then gathering feedback and views to update the proposals, so we can build and develop the plan with those who use and depend on our seas.
• By building a robust and transparent evidence- base through our impact assessments, including a full socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) to identify potential impacts on marine sectors and communities and the mitigation measures that could be built into NMP2.
• In our policy for NMP2 – working towards developing solutions for those impacted by change.

3.2.3 Advice From First Minister’s Environment Council

The First Minister’s Environment Council (FMEC) has produced advice on National Marine Planning; noting key factors to consider for achieving optimal use of Scotland’s marine space and the development of NMP2 such as:

• Establishing a small number of national-level strategic objectives and subobjectives which are relevant and targeted both sectorally and regionally. The activities of various actors should aggregate to achieve the national objectives.
• Establishing a decision-making framework which supports ministerial decisions on prioritisation of specific marine activities or spaces, where required, to support the sustainable use of Scotland’s seas.
• Defining measurable outcomes and targets around the objectives of the national plan and measuring progress towards these through an appropriate indicator framework.

3.3 Proposed Structure

The NMP2 will set national objectives which state the ambition for marine planning in Scotland and supportive planning policy to deliver on these objectives. In line with recommendations from FMEC it is intended that high-level, national objectives will be supported by area and sector-specific policies, where required, and that the policies developed under each high-level objective directly contribute to the delivery of that objective (Figure 1).

Furthermore, the interaction of policies and objectives will be defined with NMP2 setting out the key planning policies and signposting decision- makers to relevant legislation and strategies, plans or guidance where available.

The NMP2 will adopt an area-based structure, aligning with the place-based approach taken in NPF4 to promote cohesion between the marine and terrestrial planning regimes. This structure will allow for the unique communities and industries around the coast of Scotland to be more easily reflected in policy development, better supported in regional planning, and will allow for streamlining and improved implementation of the plan.

Figure 1: Proposed structure of NMP2 (shown in green), highlighting the influence of wider relevant matters, including policy and legislative context, in informing planning.

3.4 The Marine Planning Framework In Scotland Today

The Marine Acts set out a tiered approach to developing marine planning in the UK and Scotland. The framework includes the following elements:

UK Marine Policy Statement (UK MPS): The UK MPS is the framework for preparing Marine Plans and taking decisions affecting the marine environment. Joint adoption of a UK-wide MPS provides a consistent high-level policy context for the development of marine plans across the UK to achieve the vision. The UK MPS supports the formulation of Marine Plans, ensuring that marine resources are used in a sustainable way to promote sustainable economic development, enable the UK’s move towards a low-carbon economy, healthy and functioning marine ecosystems and contribute to the societal benefits.

Scottish National Marine Plan (NMP): The NMP (2015) sets out strategic policies for the sustainable development of Scotland’s marine resources out to 200 nm. It is required to conform with the UK MPS and ensure compatibility with marine plans or development plans for areas related to the marine plan area, including English plans. The NMP is created under the Marine Acts and the MSA sets out that, a public authority must take any authorisation or enforcement decision in accordance with the appropriate marine plan (unless relevant considerations indicate otherwise). Similarly, section 58(1) of the MCAA requires a public authority to take any authorisation or enforcement action in accordance with the appropriate marine policy documents, unless relevant considerations indicate otherwise.

Regional Marine Plans: The MSA provides that the Scottish Ministers may prepare and adopt regional marine plans for Scottish marine regions defined in the Scottish Marine Order 2015 in the Scottish inshore region. Certain Regional Marine Planning functions may be delegated by a direction issued by the Scottish Ministers. No statutory Regional Marine Plan for any given region has yet been adopted but three are currently under development in Shetland, Orkney and the Clyde.

Sectoral Marine Plans: The National Marine Plan sets out that proposals for commercial scale offshore wind and marine renewable energy development should be sited in Plan Option areas. The Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy (SMP-OWE) was published in 2020 and identified the most sustainable plan options for the future development of commercial-scale offshore wind energy in Scotland. Scottish Ministers concluded that the SMP-OWE needed to be updated and re-assessed as part of the Iterative Plan Review following the ScotWind leasing award by Crown Estate Scotland (CES) of 27.6 GW of generation capacity. In addition to the ScotWind outputs, the Iterative Plan Review (IPR) will also consider the further 5.5GW of potential offshore wind capacity from the INTOG leasing round. The IPR will consider the outputs of both the ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds, as well as the mitigation and management that will be required to support the ambitious scale of development.

The Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) was adopted in February 2023. NPF4 sets out our vision for working towards a net zero Scotland by 2045 through planning. NPF4 signals the key priorities for ‘where’ and ‘what’ development should take place at a national level and is combined with national planning policy on ‘how’ development planning should manage change. There is overlap in the geographic scope of marine and terrestrial plans at our coasts. Planning Circular 1/2015 sets out the relationship between the statutory land use planning system and marine planning and licensing.