Regulatory Review Group minutes: May 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chairman 
• Susan Love, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants 
• Fiona Richardson, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities 
• James Fowlie, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
• Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Scottish Retail Consortium 
• David MacKenzie, Trading Standards 
• Jill Rosie, Consumer Scotland
• Jake MacDonald, Scottish Government
• Ross Stephen, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 
• Alex Kidd, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 
• Rachel Dolan, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 

Apologies:

• Susan Love, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Brian Lawrie, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland
• Douglas White, Consumer Scotland 
• Judith Young, Scottish Government

Items and actions

Welcome, Introductions and Approval of Minutes 

Professor Russel Griggs OBE welcomed attendees and thanked them for participating in this virtual Regulatory Review Group (RRG) policy spotlight meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting (25 April 2024) were agreed. 

Consumer Duty

Officials from Consumer Scotland and Scottish Government were introduced and presented on the Consumer Duty which came into force April 2024 with a one-year implementation period. It was highlighted that Fiona Richardson, RRG member representing CoSLA, participated in the expert advisory group to support and inform the development of Guidance.  

It was noted that this policy and associated BRIA sits with the Scottish Government but the Guidance sits with Consumer Scotland. A facilitated discussion took place where the following key points were raised:

• The RRG highlighted that having a duty on public bodies to consider the impact on consumers is positive and has the potential to be beneficial but the practicalities may be somewhat different. There will be a challenge to make sure the duty is not seen as an administrative burden since it is not enforceable. The RRG raised a concern that this may become an administrative exercise due to the number of other duties that public bodies must comply with. Members noted that this is an opportunity though for small businesses to scrutinise public bodies on their strategic decision making.
• The definition of consumers was discussed as being highly important with no room for ambiguity. 
• The RRG highlighted that ensuring robust engagement with public bodies to secure senior leadership involvement is essential. Members welcomed the idea of having board champions to promote and help their public body along with creating a network of board champions to help apply the duty. There is also a risk in allowing public bodies to define what a strategic decision is. Members noted that a way to show where and when the duty has been applied is to publish it in an annual report.
• The RRG highlighted that Local Authority (LA) flexibility may create disparity throughout Scotland as each will apply the duty in their own way. A national standard style was suggested to combat this potential unintended consequence. This will be challenging to implement due to resource and budgetary constraints which in turn only enables LAs to provide a service level they can rather than the service level they are striving to. 
• It was also noted that there is currently no mechanism for consumer groups to challenge public bodies on how the duty has been applied. It is important for public bodies to be held accountable and members noted that there is an opportunity to highlight to the Scottish Government that resource constraints may affect the ability of regulators to demonstrate and report on compliance . Members also questioned where the long-term monitoring arrangements for this duty sits and it was highlighted that this would be for the Scottish Government and Consumer Scotland to explore further.
• The RRG also raised that the Consumer Duty could be added into the BRIA as an additional consideration within the policy making process. It was highlighted that Ministers now have a separate section to complete to confirm that they are content that officials have considered the impact on consumers in additional to the normal Ministerial approval.

Visitor Levy

Officials from Visit Scotland and Scottish Government were introduced and presented on the Visitor Levy Bill. Amendments were due to be considered at the end of May 2024 with the Bill being at Stage 3 of the parliamentary process. A facilitated discussion took place where the following key points were raised: 

• The RRG highlighted how well Scottish Government has engaged and interacted with Visit Scotland and other business organisations which has ensured the legislative process has been smooth. It was suggested that due to the successful engagement and process that followed, a lessons learned exercise be conducted to identify best practice with an opportunity to embed these across the organisation’s policy making approach.
• The RRG discussed the multiple international Visitor Levy approaches already in place and remarked on the comprehensive assessment undertaken to arrive at the model developed while noting the need for local flexibility.
• The RRG welcomed that a report, accountable to Audit Scotland, must be published every 3 years to show where the funding has been spent and if it has met objectives. The RRG noted the difficulties with Local Authorities all using different accounting system to collect the levy. Due to this it will be difficult for the Scottish Government to comparatively assess across LAs should it wish to do so.
• The RRG raised a potential concern on timescales for implementation from conception of strategy to levy being put in place. Businesses must be clearly informed to ensure success and compliance. Members were informed that each LA must have a strategy first before implementing the levy and once a decision has been made only then the 18-month implementation period will commence. The RRG noted that due to this timescale the first examples of the Visitor Levy taking effect will be 2027 and this needs to be clearly communicated to ensure business planning reflects this.
• The use of funds being included in the guidance was considered and discussed. Members highlighted that in order to deliver the policy objectives, it will be important to ensure that decisions on funding are based on strategy and publicly reported in a transparent way. This will be essential to ensuring that the policy enhances and develops the tourism sector as intended at the policy outset.

The RRG remarked that this is a clear and effective example of policy co-production as expected as part of the New Deal for Business, particularly providing Visit Scotland with the opportunity to lead and shape guidance with partners. The RRG confirmed that it would engage with Local Authorities, including City of Edinburgh Council, to discuss the progress of implementation. The RRG will undertake a project on the Visitor Levy policy development to capture and disseminate best practice across the organisation.

Any other business

The next RRG meeting will be held in person on 27 June 2024 to monitor progress of recommendations issued over the past six months.

Officials will issue invitations on behalf of the RRG.